


Charity

by redbirdy32



Series: A Gabriel Reyes/Reader Series [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Drugged Sex, Established Relationship, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kidnapping, Masturbation, Murder, Mutual Masturbation, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Smut, Suicide Attempt, Vaginal Fingering, Violence, dropping f-bombs all over the place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:42:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 55,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbirdy32/pseuds/redbirdy32
Summary: Gabe's past comes back to bite.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Reader
Series: A Gabriel Reyes/Reader Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740118
Comments: 31
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third story in my Gabe/Reader series. While this story could pretty much stand on its own, I do highly suggest anyone new to the series read Caretaker first to establish background.
> 
> ***Disclaimer: This work was written for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to endorse, represent, advocate for, or educate on any of the topics it touches on. Certain topics may be portrayed inaccurately in part or in whole. While all efforts are made to research certain subjects to portray them accurately, the research may be cursory, at best and may effect the real-world accuracy of the portrayal of certain topics. ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Im back with another one. Sorry it took so long to get this out. This was finished then I decided to rework it some, then rework it some more and that's what took so long.
> 
> Shout out to a friend of mine who doesn't want to be named. I bounce all my ideas off her and shes brutally honest with me. She also beta reads some of my fics for logic and she was extremely helpful with this one.
> 
> It gets kinda dark, but I hope ya'll enjoy.

“No....No!...Amir don’t!” 

Gabriel shot up from the pillow sitting up right, panting, a sheen of sweat covering his body. 

“Gabe,” you said sleepily, opening your eyes. He was facing forward, still panting like he hadn’t heard you. You sat up slowly reaching out to touch his arm. “Gabe.” He jumped when you touched him and he looked at you.

“Huh?” he breathed.

“You ok?” 

“Bad dream...I’m fine.” He moved the covers off of himself and swung his legs off the side of the bed to stand and made his way to the bedroom door opening it slightly, when you spoke.

“You want me to keep you company?” 

“No, baby, I’m fine. We gotta be up early for that thing. Get some rest, I’ll be alright.”

You laid back down as Gabriel left the room closing the door behind himself. He made his way to the kitchen, got a glass of water and started thinking as he leaned against the counter, sipping. He had had that particular dream many times, but it had been years since he had it last. He wondered what had prompted it, maybe something he ate at dinner. Going for thirds probably wasn’t the best idea, but your chicken carbonara was one of his favorite dishes. As he stood there sipping his water he did his best to push the thoughts of the past the dream had evoked to back of his mind. They weren't pleasant ones. He downed his remaining water and made his way back to the room. 

You were laying on your back and when he got into bed he laid his head on your chest wrapping his arms around you. You put your hand in his hair, stroking it back before kissing his forehead. You continued to stroke his hair until you both went back to sleep.

It was that time of year again. Time for the Overwatch Bureaucracy to get together over breakfast and pat themselves on the back for a job well done. To take credit for work they didn’t do, work that others had bled and sacrificed their lives for. It all made Gabriel sick to his stomach, but as Overwatch’s number two he was required to attend and pretend to give a damn about a bunch of jackasses who only ever looked at him and the other agents at Overwatch as a weapon to be pointed at a target. This year was different though. This year Gabriel had you and he was hoping with you at his side you’d help make it all a little more bearable, help make the tasteless pancakes and eggs go down a little easier. 

He dressed in his uniform as was customary and you dressed in a form-fitting but tasteful emerald green sheath dress with cap sleeves and white applique lace detailing up the sides which you paired with nude heels. The event was held in the ballroom of an upscale hotel. A buffet breakfast was served and everyone mulled about talking and fixing their plates before the speeches and plaque giving began. You, Jack, Gabriel, and Ana stood in a group looking around the room. You listened and chuckled a bit as the three of them stood there complaining about having to be in attendance. 

“...At least this year there’s a bar. Anyone want a drink? I’m going to get me a whiskey.”

“Gabriel, it's nine in the morning,” you said.

“So? If I gotta sit through bullshit, I’m gonna do it with a drink in my hand.” 

You shook your head as he began to walk toward the bar. Ana sighed.

“Wait up Gabe. I’m coming with you.” She called, following after him. 

“Why do they make you guys come to these things? You’re all so miserable.” you asked Jack.

“Honestly we’re just window dressing. We’re here to lend a modicum of credibility to this catered circle jerk.” 

Suddenly Jack took a sharp inhale as he looked across the room. You followed his gaze to a tall leggy woman with strawberry blonde hair. Everything about her screamed money, from her designer dress and expensive heels, to the diamonds she wore around her neck and wrist. Jack narrowed his eyes as he glared at her.

“Who’s that?” you asked.

“Trouble.” said Jack

You were still staring at the women when suddenly a mimosa appeared in front of your face. You took it and turned around to look at Gabriel.

“If I’m drinking, you're drinking too.” 

“Thanks,” you said.

Jack turned to Gabriel.

“Did you know she was coming?” he asked nodding in the direction of the woman. 

Gabriel took a sip from his whiskey before he looked at the woman Jack had nodded at. He stared at her for a long moment. His eyes following her as she moved from where she stood to the other side of the room greeting people. You watched him look at her and saw something like contempt in his eyes as he watched her.

“I had no idea,” he said. 

He turned to you realizing that you had been watching him and almost felt like he had been caught red handed. You maintained your expression, not letting on that you noticed the guilt in his eyes.

“You ready to join the buffet line?” he asked. You nodded.

You got your food and went to your assigned table and ate as the ceremony got underway. Speeches were given and several people were given plaques. Gabriel made his irritation at it all obvious shaking his head and rolling his eyes, his loud sighs drawing stares from some of the other tables. Ana held her hand over her mouth to hide the fact she was laughing. Jack kicked him under the table a couple times, one time overshooting the mark and kicking you in your ankle. You winced as you glared at him.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

Gabriel was on his third whiskey and Jack took his glass and moved it across the table from him.

“I’m not drunk!” he whispered to him. Jack just shook his head. He wasn’t drunk but he decided to act it a little. He pulled your chair close to his and put his arm around your back pulling you to him as he began to kiss on your neck open mouthed, pressing his tongue to your skin as he kissed you. 

“Gabriel.” you whispered.

He used his finger to turn your face to his and pressed his mouth to yours in a kiss you thought would be short and sweet until he pushed his tongue into your mouth deepening it. You swiftly pulled back from him. 

“Stop Gabriel.” you whispered, looking at him, then noticing the people at the table directly in your sightline watching the both of you. Your cheeks heated. You pecked his lips, pressing your forehead to his as he put his hand on your cheek caressing your face.

“Behave,” you whispered against his mouth.

“That’s my line,” he said low, pecking your lips back. 

Jack cleared his throat. You turned to look at him.

“You guys mind entertaining your audience some other time?” whispered Jack. 

When you pulled back from Gabriel you looked around noticing several pairs of eyes on you both from the neighboring tables. Apparently seeing Gabriel engaged in pda was new for a lot of them and they couldn’t help but turn their attention from the speeches in the front of the room to stare. You scoot your chair over and pulled in under the table sitting up straight trying to feign like you weren’t mortified. Gabriel wasn’t phased. He reached over to put his hand on your thigh under the table moving it up your leg and you slapped it away turning to glare at him as he smiled at you. Thankfully the ceremony wrapped up shortly after that and everyone was given leave to keep eating, drinking and mingling about the room.

You and Ana got up and went to the restroom. You came out the stall first and went to the sink to wash your hands, the woman from earlier standing there reapplying her lipstick in the mirror. She stopped to look at you. 

“So you’re Gabriel’s new flavor of the month?” she said with a smile.

“Huh?” you said reaching for paper towels before turning to look at her.

“He sure likes ‘em young doesn’t he? What are you 24? 25?”

“31,” you answered.

“Wow, good for you.” she said with an impressed smile. “Well if that little show you two put on is any indication, his appetite is still as voracious as I remember it. Come on, tell me, woman to woman, after he’s had you, it's a wonder you can even stand upright, let alone walk, am I right?”

“Excuse me?” 

“Has he started speaking in spanish to you yet...you know, during?” You looked at her incredulously. “Every time he’d call me ‘princesa’ when he was inside me...it was like magic.” Your stomach dropped a little.

Ana had heard enough and slammed out of the stall she was in, making the woman turn to look at her. 

“Ana, nice to see you again.” the woman said cheerfully. 

“Charity,” said Ana cooly as she walked to the sink to wash her hands.

“Well it was nice to meet you,” Charity said, turning to you smiling, before she turned to leave. 

“I can’t stand that bitch,” said Ana drying her hands. 

“Who is she? Her and Gabriel were obviously involved, she went through a lot of trouble to make sure I knew that. So what’s the story?” Ana sighed.

“Charity Greyson. She’s a lawyer for Overwatch. They had an affair, she was married and it didn’t end well. That’s all I’m gonna say. If you want to know more than that you’ll have to talk to him about it. It's not really my place.” you nodded. “Hey, don’t let anything she said get under your skin. Gabriel loves you, you make him happy. That's all that matters.” You nodded again, wheels in your head already turning.

When you came back out into the ballroom, Charity was sitting in your seat at the table talking to Gabriel. She had a smile on her face, that didn't touch her eyes and as you got closer to the table, you could tell from the tone of Gabriel’s voice that the conversation wasn’t a pleasant one. He sounded upset. 

“Charity do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone.”

“Oh Gabriel, don't be like that, especially since we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other soon. I’ve been temporarily assigned to HQ for a project. Surely we can be friendly with each other. For old times sake.”

He glared at her.

“I’m looking forward to catching up with you. You and that pretty girlfriend of yours.” His eyes went wide with rage.

“You stay away from her, you understand me? You’re a fucking disease Charity and I won’t have you infecting her with your bullshit.”

You arrived at the table just as he said this and he stood grabbing your hand. 

“We’re leaving Y/N, ” he said, storming off, dragging you behind him, his strides wide so you had to run to keep up as you glanced at Charity behind you. She was still smiling.

“Gabriel, slow down...Gabriel.” he stopped when he got outside the ballroom next to the coat check.

“Go get your coat,” he said sternly.

“Gabriel what-” he cut you off

“Y/N I don’t want to talk, I want to leave. Go get your coat.” he said, raising his voice. You looked at him and blinked, conveying with your expression that you didn’t appreciate his tone. He sighed, bumping into you slightly, as he marched over to the coat check himself. As he did this Jack came out of the ballroom and walked over to where he stood waiting for the attendant.

“I thought I saw you hightailing it out of there,” said Jack. Gabriel spun on him.

“Did you know that Charity was coming to HQ?” asked Gabriel anger in his voice and features.

“What?! I had no idea.” said Jack, “Did she tell you that? I saw you talking to her. Is that why you're running out of here?” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes as the attendant handed him your coat and he took it aggressively, almost snatching it.

“If she’s been assigned here, find a way to get her reassigned.”

“I can’t do that Gabe”

“It's always 'I can’t' with you! What is the fucking point of you being Strike Commander then?!”

“Look, I don’t know what she said to piss you off, but don’t take that shit out on me and don’t take it out on Y/N. You think I didn’t see the way you dragged her out of there?” Gabriel took a deep breath.

“I can’t relive this shit with her again Jack. I won’t.”

You came up to both of them and took your coat out of Gabriel’s hand, putting it on. He took your hand and began to walk toward the hotel exit, turning around to look at Jack as he went.

“If you can, do something to stop this Jack...just do it.”


	2. Chapter 2

The car ride home was silent at first, Gabriel still visibly angry as he drove, but after a while he seemed to calm and you decided now was as good a time as any to ask him about Charity.

“What happened between you and Charity?” 

He said nothing, his irritation beginning to flare again.

“Gabriel”

“It was a long time ago Y/N. I really don’t want to talk about it.” You sat for a moment.

“It was a long time ago but an interaction with her has you practically running out of the hotel?"

“Leave it alone.”

“Did you love her?” He glanced at you for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

“I don’t know...I told you, I’ve never felt what I feel with you, with anybody. Maybe at the time I thought I was in love, but looking back…”

“So you thought you were in love with her? And then something happened, what was it?” he sighed, trying to temper his rising anger. 

“Please Y/N, don’t press me on this.”

“Why can’t you just answer my questions?”

“What is it you’re looking for Y/N?” he said raising his voice “Reassurance? I love you. I don’t love her, I never did. Are you happy now?”

“No.”

“Why not?!” he yelled.

“Because you’re not being honest with me! Who is this woman to you Gabriel!? Why does she still have such an effect on you?! You called her a disease, why?!"

“You need to drop this Y/N, right now, or so help me God.”

“What! What are gonna do!? I’m not one of your fucking recruits that you can threaten and I’ll just shut up and fall in line. All you have to do is-”

“No, all you have to do is leave my fucking past in the past.” he parked in front of the condo.

“You first!” 

You opened your door and got out slamming it closed.

“Shit,” he said to himself as he started to get out. 

You were at the door opening it as he was coming up the walk. You got it opened and went inside, slamming it closed in his face when he was just about to come in. You took off your coat as you made your way to the bedroom. He opened the front door and came inside irritation on his face, closing the door behind him.

You went in the closet turning on the light and hung up the coat then pulled down the zipper on the side of your dress. Gabriel came into the bedroom and sat down on the bed facing the closet. 

“Did someone say something to you?” He asked, a lot more calm than before.

You stepped out of your dress and hung it up. Coming out the closet in your bra, panties, and heels.

“Why do you care?” He looked at you, baffled. “You know, I’m watching you Gabriel and I’m trying to figure out if you just want to screw her or screw her over for however things ended up between you two. Either way, you're behaving like you’re not over her and you won’t tell me why?”

He stood up and reached for you pulling you to him grabbing your face with both hands.

“That's not what it is at all Y/N.”

“Then set me straight Gabriel. Cause right now all I have to go off of is how you’re acting and you know I’m no good at inferring what's going on from people's actions….Talk to me."

He looked at you, reluctance in his eyes. 

“It's not what you're thinking Y/N. I swear it. I need you to trust me mi princesa.” 

The words were like a punch to your gut. You grabbed his wrists pulling his hands off your face, backing away from him.

“Don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that again.” You turned and went into the bathroom slamming the door behind you.

That night you cooked dinner and you were noticeably silent as you ate. Gabriel kept looking at you and you kept averting his gaze. You finished your meal and rinsed your plate in the sink before going into the bedroom, closing the door behind you. 

“I take it you guys are fighting.” said Jack.

“Fighting without words apparently. We got into it this morning and she hasn’t spoken to me since. She won’t even look at me. This is exactly why I don’t want Charity around; she poisons everything she touches.”

“Have you told Y/N about everything that went down between you and Charity?”

“She already seemed to have the gist of the situation. I didn’t see the need to fill her in beyond that.”

“Yeah and now she’s not talking to you.”

“How Jack? How do I begin to tell her that I let Charity turn me into murderer, that I killed one of our own because of her, because I couldn’t keep it in my fucking pants.” Gabriel paused then sighed. “I could lose her behind this.”

“If you continue to carry on like you are, all bent out of shape about this with no explanation, you're gonna lose her anyways.” Jack sighed. “Charity’s coming to HQ. That was decided above my head so there's nothing I can do about it. It's better if you tell Y/N your side of the story now, before Charity comes here and does what she’s always does, twist the truth with her lies. Don't let her run Y/N out of here because you refuse to speak up Gabriel."

Gabriel nodded then took a deep breath and stood taking his plate to the sink then went into the bedroom closing the door behind him.

You were sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from the door in your bra and panties, the shirt you were going to wear to bed sitting next to you, as you applied body butter to your skin. Gabriel walked around to where you were sitting and sat in front of you on the floor, dipping his hand into the tub on the nightstand, messaging the body butter into your leg. You stopped your movements looking at him as he focused on the task, not meeting your eyes.

"Years ago, I got into some trouble on a mission, enough trouble that I needed legal assistance to get out of it. They sent Charity. We started our affair when she was working on that case and then it just continued on from there for about a year. I knew from the beginning she was married. She wore her ring and everything, but I just didn't care, too caught up in the forbidden thrill of it all I guess.

Anyways, I didn't know at the time that for work she went by her maiden name. The whole time I thought she was married to some businessman. He was always out of town, always on trips, always too busy according to her. I didn't care to find out her married name until right before I tried to end things with her. The truth was she was married to an agent. This was someone I had fought with, bled with. Someone I trusted with my own life. Even though I outranked him, the respect between us was mutual. I counted him as a friend, as a brother and I had betrayed him in the worst possible way. 

The day I found out, I ended things with her. She begged me not to, saying she had fallen in love with me, that she was gonna leave him. I didn't want that and that's when I realized deep down I really didn't want her, not as much as I had thought...not as much as I had expressed on the couple of occasions I had gotten carried away. It's cruel, I know, but the moment the affair stopped being fun for me is the moment whatever feelings I thought I had for her dissipated. It was like coming out of a fog. 

Some time after, I was sent on a mission with her husband. When we got back, he came to my room to have a drink and shoot the breeze like we usually did sometimes. He pulled a gun out of his jacket and confronted me about the affair. He pulled out this necklace claiming I had given it to Charity, but I never gave her anything. Anyways, I told him the truth. I told him it was over between us, told him how sorry I was, that I didn't know she was his wife but I guess confirmation of our betrayal was too much for him. He put the gun to his head. I talked him down a bit and tried to take it from him but he wouldn't let it go. We struggled for it and it went off. When the dust settled I realized my finger was on the trigger." He paused still looking down at your leg, rubbing the same spot he had been rubbing this whole time, "I held him as he took his last breaths begging me to tell him why I had betrayed him. I didn't have an answer. All I could do was apologize until he stopped breathing."

He looked up at you, his eyes swimming with tears he wouldn't let fall. Shame and guilt were written on his features. You looked back at him still processing everything he had just told you. He seemed to come to some conclusion and winced, closing his eyes, turning from you. Instinctively, you reached out to him placing your hand on his cheek, moving off the bed to sit in his lap. You put your other hand on the other cheek holding his face pulling his head up so you could look in his eyes but he kept them closed. He grabbed your wrists, thumbs stroking your skin.

"Please don't leave me," he said softly.

You were surprised when you felt tears rolling down your own face. He sounded so wounded, so broken. You had never heard so much pain in his voice before. You pulled him to you in an embrace wrapping your arms around him tight. He let out what sounded like a relieved exhale and wrapped his arms around you pulling you close as he laid his head on your shoulder. You began to stroke his hair and soon felt his tears begin to puddle on your skin. 

He made no sound. Just held you tightly as you held him in turn rubbing his back and stroking his hair whispering to him.

“I got you, I’m not going anywhere, I got you.”

You both sat like that for a long time until he kissed your shoulder and pulled back to look at you, wiping his face as he did. He took your hands into his and kissed them both.

“I’m not a good person Y/N. I don’t deserve you and I know I’m not worthy of you-”

“Stop Gabriel,” you said softly.

“No, let me finish...Every second I get to spend in your presence is an honor and your love is a gift I cherish. There’s no way on earth I could ever be hung up on anyone else past or present and I’m sorry if my actions today made you question that. I love you so much Y/N.” 

“I love you too.” 

You touched his cheek and he looked at you and grabbed your face pecking your lips.

“My sweet girl...mi princ-” He stopped himself as you inhaled sharply. “What happened today Y/N? Why don’t you want me to call you that anymore?” You sighed.

“Charity spoke to me today. She wanted me to know you two had been together. She said that you used to call her that when you slept with her. I hate that I let it get to me, but now every time you say it all I can see is you on top of her. I’m not naive. I know there have been others before me, others that were probably special to you, but I just liked thinking that was something that was mine, something you said only to me and she ruined it for me.”

He sighed and kissed your cheek.

“I’m sorry she did that. If it was up to me she’d never speak to you or come anywhere near you.”

“Gabriel, you still haven’t explained why you feel so strongly toward her. You had an affair, her husband found out and it ended tragically, but how does that result in the contempt you have for her?”

He took a deep breath.

“Her husband’s death was investigated. When they interviewed her she told them I was obsessed with her, that she had tried to end things with me but I wouldn’t take no for an answer. She said she believed I had murdered him, that I told her I would do as much. The evidence couldn’t prove her theory wasn’t true and he and I were the only one’s in the room. It became he said she said and I almost lost everything I had worked for and accomplished behind her lies. Ultimately, the powers that be decided to drop it and take my word for what happened. But to this day there are people around Overwatch, mainly the higher ups, who believe her version of how things went down...and then…”

“And then?” 

“I always wondered how her husband found out about us. Our affair went on for a year without him suspecting anything. She swore up and down she never told him, but I’m supposed to believe the moment I decide to end things he conveniently gets wise? I don’t buy that.”

“You think she set it up for him to confront you?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her….She’s coming to HQ Y/N, on a temporary assignment. I want you to stay clear of her. She’s dangerous and I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her. Promise me you won’t be alone with her, that you won’t go anywhere with her.”

“I promise.”

“She's gonna say things to you. Things to get under your skin, things to make you doubt me. Don’t let her Y/N. Don’t allow her to come between us.” 

“I could say the same thing to you. The way you dragged me out of that ballroom, the way you spoke to me, all because of her. You can’t let her make you lose your cool like that Gabriel. You can’t let her make you so angry.”

“But she does make me angry.” 

“You ever think maybe she does that on purpose? That she gets off on knowing she still has some effect on you? And you play right into her hands.” He sighed thinking to himself. “You’ve gotta get that under control.” he nodded. 

“I feel bad you have to deal with any of this. That my past indiscretions are coming back to bite you and me in the ass.” You smiled.

“We’ll get through it. Just keep talking to me Gabriel. I want to support you, I want to be there for you. I know you're trying to keep all this from touching me but don’t shut me out. “

“I’ll try my best...for you.” 

You yawned.

“I’m sorry. This whole day has been so emotionally draining.” He pecked your lips.

“Lets go to bed.”

Minutes later you and Gabriel were in bed under the covers gripping hands between you as you faced each other pressing kisses to each other’s lips.

“I love you” you said.

“I love you” he replied. You pressed your foreheads together and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

That following week, as promised, Charity came to HQ. She was setup in an office down the hall from Jack, which suited Gabriel just fine since his own office was on the other side of the building. For the first couple days she was there, she was out of sight and out of mind. But about mid-week she decided to grace you with her presence.

You were wrapping up one of your body conditioning classes and she slipped in as the recruits were making their way out and posted up on the wall. She didn’t speak until you were the only one left in the room. Your back had been turned, putting away equipment so you hadn’t seen her come in. 

“This is a cute little setup you got here.” 

You turned around, her voice startling you a bit, and looked at her.

“Thanks,” you said with a small forced smile.

Charity stood straight and grabbed the door knob, starting to close the door.

“You mind leaving that open, it gets stuffy in here after a class.”

“Oh, no problem,” she said walking toward you. “I hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable the other day at the ceremony.”

“Not at all,” you said as she came to a stop in front of you.

“It's just that, when I find someone I have something in common with I tend to get a little carried away.”

“We have something in common?” you said. She smiled.

“Surely after that angry display, Gabriel must have told you about us.”

“Oh that? Yea he told me.” you said sounding nonchalant. “My condolences about your husband. Sorry for your loss.” She gave a sly grin.

“Oh thank you sweetie. It happened so long ago though and I’m so used to being on my own now. Sometimes I forget I ever had a husband.”

Her comment jarred you but you didn't let on. 

"We should get together sometime, compare notes. Sometimes it helps to have an experienced perspective." she said.

"An experienced perspective on...?"

"On Gabriel." You felt irritation start to rise but you tamped it down.

"Thanks for the offer but I think I'm ok."

"Are you sure? You look like such a sweet girl. A man like him can be challenging for someone as young and inexperienced as yourself." You blinked, your irritation rising more.

"I'm good, really. Thanks though." 

“Y/N?” said Gabriel standing at the door. You looked from Charity to him.

“Yea?” 

“Got time for lunch?” 

“Sure.” you said and he held out his hand to you.

“Sorry to cut this short” you said to her as you went to grab your keys out of your bag behind you. 

“No by all means,” she said turning around, as you walked to Gabriel taking his hand, Charity following behind you.

“Good to see you today Gabriel.” Charity said with a smile as she followed you out the door. 

He said nothing.

You closed the door after her and locked it.

“Enjoy your lunch,” she said as the both of you began to walk away. She continued to stand there grinning before she walked off in the other direction. 

As you rounded the corner heading to the mess hall Gabriel spoke.

‘I thought I told you not to be alone with her.” he said.

“It's not like I invited her in. She came in while my back was turned and I couldn’t just up and kick her out.”

“What did she want?”

“To compare notes. Apparently, you’re too much man for someone as young and inexperienced as me and I need her ‘experienced perspective’. Oh my God that woman is insufferable. I wanted to slap the taste out of her mouth. How did you put up with her for a whole year?” 

“We didn’t do a lot of talking.” You shook your head looking down. “Hey.” He said, letting go of your hand, lifting your chin with his finger. “I don’t want you thinking about any of that.” You nodded. He took your hand again and you continued on to the mess hall.

Over the next few days and into the following week, Charity seemed to always be able to find you around Overwatch to chat with you, her topic of choice being the sex her and Gabriel had during their affair, peppering in tips and pointers about what he liked in bed. You’d usually keep a cool head and smoothly changed the subject which usually made her want to end the conversation, much to your relief. 

You acted like her comments didn’t phase you, which at first they didn’t, but as the day’s wore on, they were starting to take their toll, starting to get to you. You didn’t want to think about him with another woman. Didn’t want the visuals that crept from the back of your mind to the forefront when you and Gabriel were being intimate. Even though Gabriel was doing his best to reassure you it was all starting to make you self conscious about your ability to perform to Gabriel's liking.

One afternoon you found yourself in Gabriel’s office, on the floor, behind his desk. You had come to ask him something and had quickly gone from sitting on his desk, to being pulled into his lap, to being laid down on the floor. 

Gabriel was currently between your legs on top of you, hand up your shirt as he peppered your neck with kisses. You had one hand in his hair, the other on his shoulder, your eyes closed, releasing soft moans as each swipe of his thumb over your nipple sent sensation to your core. He turned his head, capturing your mouth and you began to kiss sloppily, tongues intertwining, as you wrapped your leg around him.

You began to open your eyes a bit and thought you saw the outline of a person standing over the both of you. You opened them fully to see Charity looking back at you as she stood above the two of you watching with a grin. You yanked away from the kiss and took your leg off him.

“Charity!” you said in surprise.

Gabriel looked at you taking in your expression then followed your gaze turning around. He sighed.

“The door was closed. You don’t know how to knock?”

“I thought we had an open door policy between us.” She said with a smile. You laid there looking between them both as they spoke to each other.

“I don’t have an open door policy with anybody. What do you want?”

“I was hoping we could chat, but I’ll come back, you're obviously busy.” 

“Close the door on your way out.” He said turning back to you like he was about to pick up where you two had left off.

Charity looked at you.

“Try massaging right under his shoulder blade while you kiss. He really likes that.” she said to you. Your eyes went wide and she grinned.

You looked at Gabriel. He was mid eye roll.

“Shut the fuck up and get the fuck out.”

“Leaving” she sing-songed as she turned and walked out the door closing it behind her.

Gabriel sighed. Then looked at you moving to press his lips back to yours. You put your hand on his chest holding him back.

“Stop. Let me up.”

He sat back on his knees pulling you to sit up as he did. He looked at you and you looked down. He placed his hand on your cheek.

“Y/N?” You looked at him. “Don’t let what she said get to you.”

“I’m trying really hard not to, but I’m not gonna lie, I’m starting to get frustrated with being made to feel like I'm incapable of pleasing you. I can’t quiet the voice that's constantly in the back of my mind now questioning every touch and caress. Does he like this? Will he like that? Am I kissing him the right way? Is this turning him off?””

“Baby you’re fine, I love everything you do.” You pulled his hand off your cheek and stood up.

“Just stop, don't do that. It sounds like you’re trying to placate me so my feelings won't be hurt.”

He stood and grabbed your hand rubbing his thumb over your skin attempting to comfort you. You pulled away refusing to meet his concerned gaze.

“Y/N?” 

“I just...need to be alone right now. I’ll see you at home.” 

You made your way out of his office.

Later that night, you and Gabriel settled into bed on your respective sides and within seconds of your head hitting the pillows, you drifted off to sleep. You don’t know how long you had been asleep but suddenly you felt a hand under your tank making its way up your stomach, gripping one of your breasts, kneading it, before rubbing slow circles over the nipple. You kept your eyes closed and laid still as you felt Gabriel scoot close to you pressing kisses to your shoulder and then your jaw, his breath tickling your neck.

His hand left your breast and began to slowly make its way down under the waistband of your sleep shorts and under the waistband of your panties, slowly coaxing your legs open as each press of his finger between your lower lips got him closer and closer to his destination until he hit his target, rubbing achingly slow as you gasped. He rolled onto his stomach, his finger still teasing between your legs as he positioned himself at your breast beginning to lick and nip at your nipple with his teeth over your shirt. Through all this you kept your eyes closed. You arched some releasing soft moans as you reached for the hem of your shirt and began to pull it up over your chest. Gabriel moved, switching to your other breast taking it into his mouth, using his free hand to caress and pinch at the one he just left, still working you between your legs picking up the pace slightly. 

You placed your hand on the back of his head as you began to pant, your other hand clutching the pillow behind you as your moans got louder.

“Kiss me,” you breathed. 

Gabriel released your breast from his mouth with a pop and came up to your mouth placing his hand under your head as he pressed his lips to yours in a deep and passionate kiss. You grabbed his face, joining him in the kiss, taking over the kiss, becoming more forceful and hungry with it, dipping your tongue into his mouth. You began to reach for his boxers with one hand pushing them down over his back side turning your bodies to the side so you could hook a leg around him. He removed his hand from between your legs and grabbed your hand at his boxers rolling your both back onto your back pinning your hand above you as he lifted up some to release his length with his other hand then yanked down your shorts and panties, all the while your kiss becoming more sloppy with the urgency of your movements, tongues everywhere as you both hummed and panted and moaned into each others mouths. 

You moved your legs underneath him to help shimmy your shorts down until you got one leg free and opened yourself wide around him. He took himself back in hand and you helped guide him to your entrance where he plunged inside you. You both parted from your kiss moaning as if in relief. You threw your free arm around his shoulders snaking your hand up the nape of his neck as you finally opened your eyes to look at him. His eyes were hooded and hungry . He leaned down to pepper your jaw and neck with kisses as he began to thrust. A bomb of tingles going off inside you as you moaned.

“Oh my God Gabriel.” 

He set a moderate and steady pace bracing himself on the hand that held your wrist to the bed so he could caress your thigh hiking it up higher on his waist so he could hit deeper inside you.

“You feel so good.” he breathed against your neck beginning to suck at your skin as he put more power behind his thrusts fucking into you deep and hard his hips snapping against you nearly knocking the wind out of you as your moans became loud and guttural.

 _“Sometimes he’d thrust into me so hard I felt like I couldn’t breathe,”_ you heard Charity say in your head. You shook your head trying to focus on the pleasure Gabriel was giving you.

He grabbed the back of your thigh pushing it down so your knee was on your chest his length now tapping your cervix each time he thrust into you.

“Fuck baby!” you shouted.

“You like that?”

_“I used to love how perceptive he was to each of my reactions. The way he’d check in to let me know he could tell what he was doing felt good to me.”_

You sunk your teeth into your lip closing your eyes tight hoping the pain would distract you from Charity’s voice in your head.

_“I knew he was really into it when he’d start speaking to me in spanish.”_

“Mi nena preciosa, you feel like heaven.” Gabriel whispered into your ear. 

Suddenly you saw behind your eyes Charity in bed naked Gabriel on top of her doing to her what he was doing to you right now as her body rocked up and down with the force of Gabriel thrusts into her. She looked at you giving you one of her sly smiles as he sat up bracing himself to rub at her clit. The same way he was rubbing at yours right now, but the expression on his face indicated he enjoyed it a lot more with her. You felt sick to your stomach.

“STOP!” you shouted. “STOP!” 

Gabriel stopped, laying back down on you his hand coming up to your cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

“I...I want to stop.” 

“What happened Y/N?” he asked, concern on his face “Am I doing it too hard? Am I hurting you?” You shook your head.

“I’m just...I’m not into it.”

“You’re what?!” He said looking at you in disbelief.

“I’m not into it.” You repeated. He stared at you for a moment, your eyes averting his gaze.

“You and I both know that’s not true, so what’s really going on Y/N?"

"What I said, I'm not into it,” you repeated, irritation now in your voice.

He sighed pulling out of you moving back over to his side of the bed tucking himself back into his boxers as best he could given the fact he was still stiff as a board. He turned on his side facing away from you.

"You're gonna have to come up with a better excuse than that Y/N."

"Why do I need an excuse at all?"

"Because it doesn't make sense. It's bullshit. Two seconds before you stopped me we were both on the same page. We both wanted it and then something changed and I want to know what that was. Mainly so it doesn't happen again. I'll always respect what you want but I'm fucking dying here right now. What would make you pull the plug right in the middle like that? I need to know Y/N and I need to know now."

"I already told you. What? I can't be turned off because you’re not? I'm just supposed to lay there and have sex with you because you want to?" 

Your words scraped against his pride and he turned around to look at you agitation in his features.

"Are being serious right now Y/N!? The implication that I would ever put my fucking urges before what you want is an insult. I go out of my way to make sure I'm following your lead at all times, even right now. You don't want to tell me what's wrong with you, fine, but dont you ever sit here and accuse me of trying to force you, you know me too fucking well for that."

"Apparently not." You said softly, but he heard you.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." You said turning on your side away from him curling yourself into a ball. 

He sat there looking at you. Close to fuming, but something about the way you had curled up, about how you were holding yourself caught his attention. Something about how you fought to tell him what was wrong. He realized you were hurt about something. He took a deep breath, his anger dissipating.

He scoot close to you pulling you into his arms kissing your temple.

"Baby I don't know what I did to hurt you but I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything" you said your voice cracking as you fought to hold back tears. "It's all me. I'm sorry...I'm sorry I can't give you what you want."

"All I want is you."

Tears started to silently fall from your eyes, but Gabriel could tell you were crying. He kissed along the side of your face stroking your hair back 

"Baby tell me what's wrong, please. If I did something, let me fix it."

"It's not you." 

That's the last thing you said that night as you laid there crying, Gabriel holding you trying to comfort you, until you fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter is sex.

Over the next several nights Gabriel’s attempts to be intimate with you ended in false starts, your insecurities settling in causing your arousal to fall flat. After the fourth night of this Gabriel gave up trying. It wore on your relationship and you became less affectionate with each other. Oddly enough Charity coincidentally stayed out of sight, she didn’t come find you to plant seeds of doubt in your ear like she had before. This went on for a little over two weeks. You both were frustrated. It wasn’t as if you didn’t want sex at all, you just couldn’t get your brain to cooperate with you.

One early morning you made to go into the bathroom to get something while Gabriel was in the shower. As you opened the door and looked in the mirror you saw the reflection of him standing under the spray, rubbing one out. He hadn’t noticed you open the door so you quietly closed it to give him his privacy. 

“At least one of us is getting off,” you thought. 

That same evening you got home before Gabriel did and you decided to give self-pleasure a try for yourself hoping that without Gabriel you might actually be able to get off without the thoughts of him and Charity getting in the way. 

You decided to shower first to start the relaxation process. When you got out, you toweled off and grabbed a t-shirt sitting it next to you on the bed as you sat and rubbed body butter into your skin. You rubbed it over your top half then pulled your t-shirt over your head and laid back on the pillows. 

You took some of the butter into your hands and began to slowly rub it into your thighs, bending your knees and rubbing into your calves and ankles before returning to your thighs slowly rubbing your hands over the insides of them as you slowed your breathing. You slowly ghosted your hand over your center before touching your finger to your clit beginning to rub slowly taking a gasping breath. You began to rub in earnest softly moaning as you worked yourself running your other hand up your shirt to squeeze and caress your breast, pinching the nipple sending jolts of sensation to your center. 

You rolled onto your stomach and onto Gabriel’s pillow inhaling his scent as you continued to rub at yourself starting to rock your hips into the bed moaning into the pillow. 

Gabriel had heard you moan outside the bedroom door and he slowly opened it to find you pleasuring yourself on the bed. He came in and slowly closed the door behind himself, watching you as he started to move toward the bed, kicking the nightstand, which startled you. You stopped, rolling to your side looking up at him in surprise. 

You both looked at each other wordlessly. He slowly began to reach for the front of his pants undoing them as he toed off his shoes. He took off his pants and boxers and got in the bed next to you laying on his back. You did the same, getting onto your back and sliding next to him so you were side by side, arm to arm. You placed your leg over his, knees bent, and he reached across and put his hand between your legs beginning to rub at your clit. You moaned, realizing in that instant how much you had missed his touch. You reached for his length and he exhaled audibly almost in relief as you touched him. You started to pump your hand and he put his free hand over yours tightening your grip on him as you both stroked him. He quickly pulled your hand off him bringing it to his mouth licking the inside of your palm and fingers before replacing both your hands back on his rod continuing to stroke to the rhythm he set. 

You both laid there pleasuring each other, both of your moans and groans and pants and sighs and gasps filling the room as you played between each others legs. Something about having sex this way, about not having the press of Gabriel's body on yours, or him breathing on you, something about him being close but also far away made it seem almost impersonal and all you had to do was focus on his hand without thinking about who the hand was attached to which kept the thoughts that had poisoned your sexual interactions before at bay. 

Suddenly he took his hands off you and rolled you onto your side and he rolled behind you lifting your leg, slipping his member between your thighs before setting your leg back down. He pulled you to him beginning to thrust, his length slipping back and forth between your legs as it rubbed at your center, sliding along your folds.

“Oh my God,” you moaned. 

You began to rock your hips angling them so you rubbed your clit against him with each snap of your hips. Soon you were rocking together in tandem panting and moaning as you moved, the snap of your hips complimenting his so your skin came together with a satisfying smack. He reached for the hem of your t-shirt pushing it up with both hands, gripping your breasts kneading them in his hands rubbing circles over your nipples with his palms.

“I’m gonna cum baby,” he breathed against your neck. “Cum with me.”

You both began to rock your hips faster pleasure pooling in your core almost ready to explode. Gabriel tipped over the edge first his rod erupting on your legs as he groaned and panted loudly, stopping his movements as he held your breasts tightly. His seed made things between your legs much slicker as you continued to rapidly rock against him panting fast in time with your movements, milking the last bits of seed from him

“Fuck Y/N...keep going baby…make yourself cum.” 

Your pants turned to moans and your moans started to get louder and more intense. He could tell you were close, but he was starting to soften and you were losing the friction you needed to take you to completion. He reached over you, between your legs and began to rub quickly at your clit with his hand.

“Fuck fuck fuck Gabriel!” you screamed as you began to shake, going rigid against him as you came hard throwing your head back clamping your eyes shut. He smiled as he watched you, stroking the top of your head, pressing kisses to your temple as he whispered to you. 

“There you go my sweet girl...you needed that didn’t you baby?”

After several moments you relaxed against him, breathing deeply. He was still stroking your head. You grabbed the arm he had wrapped around you and held it stroking your hands over his skin.

“I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too.” You both laid silent for a moment.

“This was different.” he said.

“I guess I needed different. It kept Charity out of my head."

"What?" 

You sighed. You hadn't meant to let on to the fact that what Charity had said had gotten to you. That you had allowed her words to have such an effect on you, made you feel embarrassed and ashamed. 

"I...when...Charity." You took a deep breath not knowing how to start. "I let what she said get to me…I keep seeing you with her when we're together, doing to her what you're doing to me, but you enjoy it more with her...I can't please you the way she can."

Gabriel sighed but didn't say anything. He pulled away from you getting off the bed, taking off his shirt. He walked around the bed to the bathroom, stopping at the door to hold his hand out to you. You got up and went to him. He pulled your t-shirt over your head tossing it to the side then began to lead you into the bathroom letting go of your hand to turn on the shower. 

As it came up to temperature Gabriel lifted you to sit on the sink placing a hand on either side of you leaning forward to press his mouth to yours in a slow sweet kiss.

"I don't know what I have to say or what I need to do to make you understand that your touch is the only touch I crave. You're worried about pleasing me like she can but what I want is for you to please me like you can. She thinks she knows what makes me tick, what I like, what turns me on, she has no flippin' clue...It's you Y/N."

He grabbed your hand and placed it on his softened penis. It started to stiffen and rise.

"This is what you do to me." He kissed your cheek. "Do you know how hard it is to be near you sometimes? How I lose focus when you touch me or kiss me? In a perfect world, we'd climb into that bed together and never leave it." 

He grabbed your chin and began to stroke it with his thumb. 

"Stop doubting yourself Y/N...My princess...mi princesa" You smiled.

"Don't let her take that away from us." He pecked your lips.

"Your my princess and I want to serve you and spoil you and pamper you until you get sick of me...come on"

He helped you off the counter and pulled you into the shower with him. He looked at you lovingly as the spray drenched your hair and began to use his hand to smooth it back before tilting your chin to bring his lips to yours in a searing kiss. He picked you up, turning to press your back to the wall, never breaking the kiss as you held his face with both hands. He lined himself up with your entrance and thrust.

He made love to you for hours, in the shower, on the floor in front of the bathroom not being able to wait to make it to the bed. Eventually you did, but for the first time in weeks Charity was far from your mind and instead of feeling insecure you felt powerful and sexy. The last thing you did that night was ride him with a confidence you had buried weeks ago and you found yourself smiling and giggling as he reacted to what you were doing to him. Each moan you pulled from him was like music to your ears. 

He gripped your thighs, head thrown back, lost in pleasure as you rapidly snapped your hips back and forth squeezing him with your insides. You began to bounce on him lifting up almost all the way off him before slamming yourself back down 

"Mmmm holy fuck" he moaned.

You kept up your bouncing until you came, your insides pulsing and convulsing around him. 

"God Damn It!" he groaned through clenched teeth as he careened over the edge. He came hard and it tickled you that you were the cause. When he finally came down from orgasm he grabbed your arm yanking you to him to kiss you as he wrapped his arms around your back holding you down. He pulled back and looked at you with a smile.

"Only you can make me cum that hard. You're a dangerous fucking woman."

He continued to hold you as he rolled you both onto your sides. You laid there looking at each other pecking each other's lips until neither of you could keep your eyes open anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Charity was surprised to see you and Gabriel walking through the halls of Overwatch hand in hand, looking at each other like you had never been more in love. She had seen you when you were together just days prior looking off. Looking disconnected, barely touching each other. Now you walked so close together, it gave new meaning to the phrase "joined at the hip." It irritated her. She thought the seeds of discord she had sown had taken root within your relationship. She'd have to try harder.

"Y/N" She called from behind you.

You and Gabriel stopped and turned around. She caught up to you both.

"I've been looking for you everywhere. I've been meaning to ask you, do you have plans this weekend? I was wondering if you'd like to join me at the spa for a little girl time. You've been looking a little stressed lately."

“Hmm I wonder why,” you said under your breath.

"She's busy," said Gabriel coolly.

"Now Gabriel, Y/N’s a big girl who can make her own choices. She doesn't need you to speak for her."

"I’m aware of that, but all the same, she's busy."

Charity grabbed your hand and began to pull you with her as she walked away.

"Come on Y/N, maybe it's better if we talk where he can't influence you."

Your eyes went wide as you were pulled from Gabriel. He swiftly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"She's not going anywhere with you," he said.

She looked at his hand on her wrist, then at him. They glared at each other and she let you go. He let her go and she backed away from him. She looked at you, concern on her face.

"Does he always try to restrict your movements like this? If he's hurting you at home I can help you. You don't have to put up with his abuse."

"What?!" he said.

"That's enough Charity. I don't want to go with you to the spa, ok."

"You don't have to be afraid of him. You're not alone... He hit me too."

"What the fuck did you just say!?" 

He started moving toward her face screwed up in rage and you stepped in front of him grabbing his face in both hands he stopped, glaring at her around you.

"Look at me...look at me," you said. He looked at you, anger still his features. "Stop. You're not doing this, not today."

"But she-"

"It doesn't matter. You and I both know she's lying. Don't take the bait Gabriel, please."

He looked at you, nostrils flaring as he tried to breathe through his anger.

"See Y/N, he's out of control." said Charity with a grin on her face.

"You need to walk away Charity, right now, or I'll hit you for real." you said turning slightly to look at her.

"A sweet little thing like you? You don't have it in you," she laughed smugly.

"Try me and find out." you said coolly.

Something about the tone of your voice shook her a bit and she decided to take her leave.

"Until next time." She said as she walked away.

You stood there with Gabriel, still holding his face as he started to calm. He put his hands on your wrist and leaned in to peck your lips. You smiled.

"You ok?"

"I'm ok," He moved his hands to your waist and you pecked his mouth. "I would never hurt you like that Y/N nor have I hurt anyone else."

"I know baby...fuck her, fuck her and her lies."

He kissed you sweetly then pressed his forehead to yours as you looked at each other.

"What is the point of having an office if you’re just gonna do shit like this in the hall." called Jack as he walked past you both, not stopping.

You both smiled at each other.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the studio." He said taking your hand. You wrapped your arm around his leaning your head on him and you both started walking to the studio.

Over the next couple weeks Charity kept trying to invite you places, kept trying to get you alone and you kept refusing her. 

An event was coming up that was normally optional for Jack, Gabriel, and Ana but they all received an email letting them know they were expected to be there. Gabriel was livid.

He swiftly made his way to Jack’s office, nearly bumping into Ana as he rounded a corner.

“Did you see that shit?” she asked him.

“Headed to Jack’s to get to the bottom of it right now.”

They both marched to Jack’s office, Ana swinging the door open when they got in front of it. Jack was on the phone and they both parked themselves in a chair as they waited for him to wrap up his call. He already knew why they were there. As soon as he hung up Gabriel started in.

“Whose bright idea was it to make attendance to their little party mandatory? You know I can only take so much of this bullshit Jack. I suck it up, show my face at these little events three times a year. Three times! That's what we all agreed too.”

“I know and I-”

“I already have plans! They can’t make demands on our free time like this,” said Ana cutting Jack off.

“I agree and-”

“I’m not gonna tap dance for these people everytime they say ‘jump’. That’s your fucking job and I-”

“Would you both please just let me finish a sentence!” he yelled.

“Go ahead,” said Gabriel.

“Yeah, no ones stopping you from talking. You always get so emotional Jack,” said Ana.

“Oh my God, I’m gonna shoot myself in the face,” Jack exhaled shaking his head covering his eyes with his hand. “Look, I’m just as pissed about this as you are. I don’t know where this is coming from. We have an agreement, if they wanted to renegotiate they would’ve said something. This shit is just out of the blue.”

“Maybe I could shed some light?” said Charity standing at the door. Gabriel and Ana turned around and looked at her. She came in. “Sorry, the door was open I couldn’t help but overhear.”

Jack waved her in.

“What do you know, Charity?” asked Jack.

“Well I may have suggested that you three should be there. It's one of our more extravagant bashes. The gift bags are always so nice. I think Y/N would really enjoy it.”

Gabriel sighed annoyed.

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N what is your fucking fascination with her? Why can’t you just leave her alone?” he said.

She looked at him with a smile as he continued.

“You already tried to fuck up our sex life, now what? You're gonna kneecap her on the dance floor?”

“Oh Gabriel, you know I’m not capable of such violence. That sounds more your style. I’m sure Amir would agree...if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of your brand of violence.”

Gabriel became enraged.

“Don’t you ever speak his fucking name. Do you hear me?” He jumped up from his chair getting in her face. “You keep his name out of your filthy fucking mouth.” 

She smiled at him. Ana got up and grabbed his arm.

“Gabe,” she said, pulling him back.

“My my Gabriel, you should really do something about that temper of yours. Maybe it's the lack of good sex that’s got you so wound up? I offered to help Y/N with that, but stubborn girl that she is... ”

Jack got up and maneuvered himself between Gabriel and Charity facing her.

“I think it's time for you to go.”

“Look at how you all clamor to come to his defense. No wonder Amir never got the justice he deserved,”

“Out Charity!” said Jack, raising his voice, pointing out the door. She glared at him for a second and then left. He closed the door before turning around looking at Gabriel who had a scowl on his face. “Why do you let her get to you like that?”

“Ugh, not you too.” he said annoyed.

“So Y/N has talked to you about how ridiculous you look getting angry at everything she says? She’s not even fucking trying. She just says the most offensive shit knowing you're gonna freak out and you give her exactly what she wants. Getting in her face? Screaming at her? You know how easy it is for her to paint you as the antagonizer when you do shit like that? You get so bent out of shape, I’m worried you might actually go too far and do something to her.”

“That would never happen.”

“I don’t know Gabe. If you don't start getting a handle on this shit it could end badly. Don’t give her that satisfaction.”

“Are you done?” he said.

Jack rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh, “I guess.” He made his way back to his chair as Gabriel made his way to the door.

“Do we have to go to this thing or not? Aren’t you gonna fight this?” asked Gabriel, opening the door, looking back at Jack.

“What would be the point? It's a losing battle.”

“Useless as always. Thanks for nothing.” said Gabriel turning and leaving the office.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Involuntary drug use ensues. "Voluntary" (can you call it that?) drugged-up sex follows.

An early evening a week later, you and Gabriel were in the bedroom getting ready to go to the event he was now forced to attend. 

Gabriel dressed in a suit, his ensemble black on black on black like he was going to a funeral. You decided you would wear enough color for the both of you and dressed in a purple and gold sequin minidress with spaghetti straps and a plunge neckline, a bit of cleavage popping out the middle. 

When you both arrived at the venue, you entered into the vestibule and checked in at a table out front of the main room. You were both handed a large heavy gift bag then escorted into the main room to the table.

When you entered there was a DJ setup to the side of a large dancefloor where people were already dancing. On one wall was a large buffet setup where you could see piles of shrimp and crab legs amongst other things. There was a large ice sculpture separating the dinner from the dessert area where a chocolate fountain was setup.

In the back of the room was a large bar area where people were getting drinks. You and Gabriel were led to a circular table that was covered in a white tablecloth with candles and a fresh floral arrangement in the middle. The chairs were covered in gold chair covers that tied into a bow in the back. You sat where your name tags were placed on the table and looked around as waiters bustled around the room bringing drinks to tables and taking empty dishes away. The other tables were decorated the same as yours.

While still extravagant you could tell this was a more laid back event for the Overwatch bureaucrats. They seemed looser with each other and more liberal with their drink. 

You looked at Gabriel.

"Fresh flowers on all these tables? I wonder how much that set them back? Did you see the chocolate fountain?" He nodded. 

"Let's see what's in these stupid goody bags," he said.

You started pulling things out the bag which included a bath and body set from an expensive french brand, the latest model of holopad, an electric wine bottle opener, an Overwatch windbreaker, a $100 gift certificate to a new spa that had opened in town, and a pair of designer sunglasses. 

You and Gabriel looked at each other, when Jack and Ana were brought to the table. Jack reached for the holopad in your pile of items you had laid out on the table. 

“Is this what’s in the gift bag?” You nodded. 

He turned the holopad over in his hand shaking his head before setting it down. He took his seat. You put everything back into the bag as a waiter came around to take everyone’s drink order.

A little later, Charity came over to your table with a drink in her hand.

“Evening everyone,” she said with a smile. “Ana that's a pretty color on you,”

“Thanks?” she said rolling her eyes.

“What do you want Charity?” asked Gabriel.

“Nothing, just saying hello.” she answered. 

A woman was walking past the table at the same time a waiter with a tray full of drinks was coming from the opposite side. Charity stuck her foot out tripping the woman into the waiter causing him to drop his tray of drinks. While all of you were focused on the commotion that was caused no one noticed Charity pick up your drink and set down the drink she had brought over in its place, she then walked away. As the commotion calmed you turned back to the table and picked up your drink taking a gulp from it. 

As time went on you had finished your drink and you were starting to feel a bit weird, disoriented. You stood a little shaky on your feet.

“I’m going to the restroom” you said touching Gabriel’s hand where he rested it on the table as he talked with Jack and Ana. He looked at you taking in your slightly distressed expression.

“You ok?” 

“I think I’m just a little tipsy.” he looked at you incredulously.

“You’ve only had one.”

“I think the bartender was a little heavy handed.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No, I’ll be ok.” He grabbed your hand and kissed it. 

Something about his touch sent a jolt of sensation through you. His skin on yours felt so good you wanted to moan. Something was off. You blinked.

“Hurry back” he said, letting your hand go. You nodded not wanting him to stop touching you.

You turned and made your way to the bathroom. You went to the sink and turned on the faucet, looking at your reflection in the mirror. You knew you were standing still but the room was moving for some reason. You began to smile, then giggled. You bent down and splashed water on your face.

Suddenly Charity came into the restroom, she began to check the stalls to make sure no one else was in the bathroom but you two, then went back to the door and locked it. You watched in the mirror as she walked up behind you.

“Hi Charity,” you smiled. She smiled back and you began to giggle, turning around leaning back against the sink. You felt like you were moving in slow motion, but also like you were performing your actions faster than you were thinking about doing them. “Something’s wrong with me Charity.” you began to laugh.

“You’re so pretty Y/N,” she said reaching up to stroke your hair as you gasped at the contact then giggled.

“You think I’m pretty?” you said with a smile.

“I do,” you giggled again. “I bet something else of yours is pretty too.”

“What’s that?” you asked almost slurred.

She began to pull your dress up from the bottom so it bunched around your waist exposing your panties. She then pulled them down past your knees and they fell to the floor.

“See? Just like I said, very pretty,” she said, eyeing between your legs. She began to reach to touch you but you grabbed her wrist stopping her.

“No, this is Gabriel’s.”

“He won't mind honey. Gabriel and I are friends. Remember? Friends let friends borrow things. I'm just borrowing it for a little bit. Is that ok sweetie?” She pressed herself to your side stroking your hair with her other hand, kissing your cheek, then your neck. “Can I borrow it baby?” She whispered in your ear.

You giggled then let her go, nodding. She placed two of her fingers between your legs and began to rub at your nub and you gasped then began letting out soft moans. Your hand braced on the ledge of the sink. You looked at her, placing your hand on her cheek.

“You're pretty too,” you said before pressing your lips to hers in a chaste kiss before you pulled back. 

She looked at you and smiled, beginning to rub at you faster, your hips beginning to rock back and forth as you moaned loudly.

“Shhh sweetie. Look how cute you are. That feels so good doesn’t it?” you nodded looking at her. “Probably because of my special brand of MDMA I slipped you a little earlier.” 

Your eyes went wide, she laughed pecking your mouth and you smiled.

“Don’t worry you’ll be ok you’ll just want to feel good for a while. I’m just helping you along on that journey.” She licked a stripe up your lips before pushing her fingers into your entrance beginning to pump.

“Oh my God,” you moaned.

“Mmm you like to be penetrated don’t you? Does Gabriel penetrate you the way you like?” you nodded as she moved in front of you, wrapping her arm around your waist as she pumped the other one her fingers moving in and out if you rapidly the palm of her hand smacking against your clit. She leaned down to your chest and licked the tops of your exposed cleavage. 

“Oh fuck” you gasped “It feels so good. Don’t stop Gabriel, don't stop.”

She laughed.

“What does he call himself when he’s inside you like this?”

“Daddy…. More daddy, more!” you moaned, spreading your legs wider as you clung to her. She smirked 

“You’re about to cum aren’t you?”

“Yes,” you breathed

She yanked her fingers out if you.

“No daddy! No! Please fuck me please!” you whined grabbing her hand pulling it back between your legs rocking your hips against her fingers.

“Go find daddy sweetheart, and tell him to finish what he started.” 

She pulled down your dress, leaving your panties on the floor, and pulled you to the bathroom door unlocking and opening it before she pushed you out.

You stumbled your way to the table smiling and laughing as you went. You made a b-line for Ana standing next to her grabbing her hand.

“Please Daddy, make me feel good down there.” you breathed. She looked at you, surprised as you put her hand under your dress. Gabriel watched this exchange scrunching his face, thinking you were joking. As soon as her fingers made contact with your folds she snatched her hand back.

“Whoa!” she shouted, looking at her hand, your slick on her fingers. “She’s not wearing any underwear.” Gabriel could see your slick on Ana’s hand glistening in the light. He looked at you in disbelief.

“What?!” 

You began to lift up the bottom of your dress. “Please! Please make me feel good!” you said.

“Y/N what the fuck are you doing?!” Gabriel shouted, shooting up from his chair.

Before your dress could get high enough to expose your parts Jack reached for your hands pulling them down with your dress before he grabbed you pulling you into his lap. You laughed as he did this. You turned sideways, smiling, looking at him.

“Gabriel, did you know you have nice eyes?” you said before pressing your lips to Jack's mouth. 

“Y/N!?” yelled Gabriel coming around the table to where Jack was sitting.

Jack grabbed you, pulling you back, looking at your face. He looked into your eyes, your pupils blown.

“She’s high as a fucking kite!” he said. “What did you take Y/N?!”

You giggled kicking your legs.

“Charity said she gave me MDMA.” you laughed pressing your hands to your mouth.

“Fuck” said Gabriel. He scooped you up bridal style from Jack’s lap. “I’m taking her home.” You threw your arms around his shoulders waving goodbye at Ana and Jack as he carried you out of the venue.

Gabriel put you in the car and put your seatbelt on. Then got into the driver’s seat starting the car, pulling off. You leaned back against the seat, eyes closed as you half sang half hummed a song only you could hear. You grabbed Gabriel’s hand.

“Sing with me,” you said giggling.

“I don’t know that song baby,” he said, bringing your hand to his mouth to kiss trying to tamp down his worry as he drove.

You let go of his hand and unbuckled yourself from your seatbelt. You reached across Gabriel’s lap and started to undo his pants. He swerved a bit as he looked down at you, using his free hand to move your hands away.

“No, baby stop. I’m driving.” 

You giggled reaching back for his pants. You got them undone, then reached into them pulling out his length. 

He swerved again looking down and up trying to push your hands away.

“Y/N, come on, stop!”

You leaned over more and sunk your mouth down onto his length sucking as you went.

“Fuck Y/N!” he breathed throwing his head back. You began to bob your head up and down noisily sucking and licking at the raised veins along his length inside your mouth, his head hitting the back of your throat. 

He looked back at the road eyes closed to slits as he quickly swerved the car to change lanes.

“Ok,” he breathed to himself, pulling the car over and putting it in park. “Ok...this is happening...fuck,” he breathed placing his hand on the back of your head starting to slowly thrust into your mouth. He came to his senses for a second, "Please baby...you have to stop.” 

You took your mouth off his length and giggled as you began to wrap your tongue around his head, pressing it into the slit at the top. He took his hand out your hair and reached for you pulling you onto his lap, your front facing the steering wheel.

He pushed up your dress then took himself in hand and pressed into your entrance. Drawing moans from both of you as he wrapped his arm around your middle pulling you down onto him all the way. He leaned forward and moved your hair to kiss the back of your neck pressing his forehead into the back of your head panting as he thought out loud.

“I shouldn’t do this,” he breathed against your neck starting to caress your thighs “You’ve been drugged. I’m no better than Charity if I do this to you.”

“Gabriel.” you breathed putting your hands on top of his as he continued to touch you. “I’m so thirsty, my mouth is so dry, take me home, please.” 

He looked up, the need to take care of you causing him to come out of his lust filled fog.

“Ok, baby, I’ll get you home.”

He pulled out of you lifting you up, his rod still rock hard. He lifted you and placed you back in your seat, pulling the seat belt back around you and clicking it into place, before tucking himself back into place and putting the car back into drive and pulling off.

When he got you home you were drenched in sweat. He quickly got you to the bedroom and stripped you naked, then filled a sports cap water bottle with ice water.

“Don’t drink this too fast, I know you're thirsty, but I need you to take sips, ok?” 

You nodded. You were still sweating so he went to the bathroom to wet a washcloth with cold water and put it on your forehead. He got undressed to his boxers and laid in bed next to you on his side.

“When does this end? I'm ready to get off the roller coaster now.” you said. He smiled.

“It ends when it ends, you're just gonna have to ride it out.”

“I have to tell you something.”

“What’s that sweetheart?”

“Charity...she did things to me.” 

“What kind of things?” 

“She touched me...here.” You put your hand between your legs. Gabriel closed his eyes taking a deep breath before he opened them trying to tamp down his aggravation. “She put her fingers inside me. I thought it was you.” he sat silent for a moment.

“She’s done this before.” 

“What?” 

"I'll give you all the gory details when your sober but yeah, she drugged a woman for getting close to me. That's why I’m so adamant about you staying away from her. She’s poison Y/N and she'll hurt you to hurt me. If it was anyone else I would have put them down a long time ago, but because of her position here at Overwatch I can’t touch her.”

"Why didn't you tell me this before? She drugged me Gabriel to the point that I let her finger fuck me in the bathroom. Why would you keep something like that from me?” 

“Because I’m trying my damnedest to hold on to you Y/N. I made one mistake and that’s resulted in so much collateral damage to people I care about and it never fucking stops. I brought this shit into your life and your a fucking angel but even you have a breaking point. I’m just holding my breath until the day you decide being with me is not worth all of this.”

You began to laugh hysterically and he glared at you.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so high right now." You laughed. "I know your trying to be serious, but Gabriel, if you only knew what I’d do for you. I’d cut my own heart out for you. When we first met you took on all my shit without me even having to ask and now I’m asking...no I’m telling you to dump all your shit on me. I can take it. I’m not gonna run. You can’t protect me from that psycho bitch if you don’t tell me everything. We can’t take her ass down if you keep hiding shit from me.”

“Take her down?” 

“Yes take her down. She shouldn’t be allowed to get away with everything she's gotten away with.”

“Don’t you think we’ve tried Y/N. This is Overwatch, taking people down is what we specialize in.”

“Well you didn’t have me before.”

“And that's gonna make a difference?” You nodded. He rolled his eyes “I think that's the drugs talking.” 

“Hey Gabriel,” you said, turning toward him the washcloth falling off your head. You scoot close to him, both of you now laying on your sides, and kissed his chin placing your hand on his neck. “I don’t have any clothes on right now.”

“Little girl, roll back over to your side of the bed.” he said with a smirk.

“Only if you roll over with me.” You put your hand on his cheek and kissed him. He looked at you putting his arm around your middle rubbing your back, pulling you closer to him. You could feel the hard bulge in this boxers against your leg. 

"I'm trying so hard to hold back, you know I don't want you like this. I want you sober and lucid."

"Well right now I'm high and horny." You placed your hand inside his boxers just at the waistband and began to slowly run your fingers along it to his hip. "I won't hold it against you if you lose control just this once." You whispered, looking into his eyes. He looked back at you.

"You drive me so fucking crazy Y/N." He smacked your ass then gripped it as you giggled. "I want to fuck a hole into you, pound you into this mattress until you cry, and scream and beg. You don't know what you do to me when you beg."

"Please Gabriel," you whispered with a giggle. "Please daddy."

"Again...say it again," he whispered 

"Please daddy"

He swiftly grabbed your leg hiking it up onto his own. Then reached between you releasing his length, lining himself up before pressing his lips to yours in a sloppy kiss as he plunged into you, pushing one arm under you while using the other to pull you close. The sensation of him entering you was like nothing you had ever experienced before and it nearly brought tears to your eyes as you moaned placing your hand on his neck fingers gripping his nape as your thumb stoked the skin just under his ear.

He caressed your waist and ass as you kissed, lifting his leg some which allowed you to hook your leg around his more, opening you wide. You began to rock your hips slowly on his length taking him in halfway each time as the snap of your hips began to increase, explosions of tingles going off within your core with each movement of your hips. 

“Oh my God Gabriel, it feels so good. Why does it feel so good?”

He broke the kiss looking at you, keeping still as you quickly snapped your hips into his, impaling yourself over and over again, taking him in to the hilt now as you held onto his neck panting and moaning in his face as he watched you use him to fuck yourself. He held your back sliding his hand over your ass and thigh every once in a while fighting the urge to not only thrust, but to push your hips into each one.

He sat up a bit, pressing a kiss to your cheek so he could see the arch of your back, see the way your cheeks spread open, watch the bounce of your hips, up and down up and down, into his. He gripped your ass cheek with one hand and used the finger of the other to lightly circle your tight pink pucker. You gasped, your pace stuttering a bit before you found your rhythm again. 

He smiled, "Look at that pretty little hole." He looked at you "You think it feels left out?" You smiled at him and nodded. He removed his finger from your backside and pushed it into your mouth, "Suck on it, " he said. As you sucked he began to thrust shallowly in time with the bounce of your hips adding to the momentum so he hit deeper inside you. You hummed, both of you looking into each other's lust filled eyes.

He pulled his finger out of your mouth and brought it back to your pucker. He pressed his lips to yours and as you kissed he slowly pressed his finger into your hole stopping when his fingertip got past the tight ring of your opening. You gasped breaking the kiss. Bringing your hips to a stop as you panted.

"You ok?" You nodded he pecked your lips and smiled. "You're so relaxed, so pliant, your hole is so soft, I can easily…" he pushed his finger in more, stopping at his knuckle and you giggled. "What's so funny sweet girl?" 

"I don't know but that feels really good, everything does...Move your finger. Fuck me with it." He began to slowly pump his finger in and out of your pucker.

"Like that?" You nodded closing your eyes, dropping your mouth open. "Look at me baby don't take your eyes off me." He began to slowly thrust into you as he pumped the finger in your ass and you giggled and smiled.

"You're so nasty Gabriel," he smiled 

"You're nasty right along with me."

"I want to be a filthy dirty whore for you, only for you."

"Let me show you how I fuck my whores." He breathed.

He thrust into you hard. Making you moan loudly. He took his finger out of you and gripped your ass as he began to set a rapid brutal pace pushing your hips to him, holding you in place.

His hips slammed into yours as he pistoned in and out of you ripping loud guttural moans from you as you clung to him. He pressed his forehead to yours panting and grunting in your face. He could feel you start to pulse around him signaling your climax and he rolled you onto your back pulling out of you. You whined at the loss as he came up on his knees scooting forward so your legs were pushed back. 

He began to furiously rub at your clit with one hand while he rapidly pumped his length with the other. 

"I'd never cum inside a whore," he said. You smiled, laughing a bit before your orgasm tore through you and you shouted a moan as you gripped the sheets, back lifting off the bed as you arched tightly.

"There you go baby," he said, still pumping his length and still rubbing your clit as you shook and moaned. Soon you started to squirm over-stimulation setting in. He let himself go and wrapped his arm around your waist holding you in place as he kept rubbing at your nub.

"Don't run from it...take that...take it." 

You convulsed on the bed back rapidly arching up and dropping back down as you moved your legs, feet sliding back and forth over the sheets before you screamed. He kept rubbing. Suddenly you were rapidly rocking your hips, breaths coming out in pants as you slapped your hands on the bed over and over again

"I'm gonna cum!" You screamed before you went silent, whole body going rigid as you violently shook. Gabriel let you go, grabbing his length he pumped it maybe three times before he shot his load on your stomach chest and chin with a loud shout moaning low as he held himself tight and pumped slow, milking the last of his seed out onto his hand as he panted.

You finally relaxed laying flat on the bed breathing deeply. You both maintained your positions for a while just listening to each other breathe before you reached for the water bottle and began to drink. Gabriel grabbed the wet washcloth off the pillow and cleaned you both up.

He got off the bed taking the cloth with him into the bathroom.

You laid there continuing to sip at the water, mouth dry. Gabriel came out the bathroom and got back in bed with you.

“How you feel?”

“Still high, still thirsty. You mind getting me a refill?” 

“Sure.”

Gabriel laid with you for hours, refilling your water, talking with you, and spurning your advances when you tried to have sex with him again until you started to come down from your high. At some point Jack knocked on the door and Gabriel went to talk to him standing in front of it keeping Jack back so he couldn’t see you naked on the bed. 

"I brought your gift bags...She ok?” he asked.

“So far,” Gabriel said.

“Hey Jack, I’m sorry, tell Ana I’m sorry too.” You called.

Jack smiled.

“It's fine Y/N. Feel better ok?” He called back. 

Suddenly a wave of nausea hit you.

“I’m gonna be sick,” you said, shooting up from the bed to run to the bathroom.

“Gotta go,” Gabriel said to Jack, closing the bedroom door, following you into the bathroom as you doubled over the toilet and threw up. He grabbed your hair holding it back, rubbing your back until you stopped. He helped you over to the sink so you could wash your face and rinse your mouth out then helped you back to bed.

“I never want to do this again. I knew there was a reason why I didn't do drugs. This is the reason….but I get some of the appeal.”

“What do you get?”

“Sex on this shit is mind blowing. Every sensation is heightened. I could have cum just from you touching me. Your inhibitions go away. Charity easily convinced me to let her touch me and when she stopped... I don’t know...I felt I’d risk it all just for her to keep fucking me.” There was a pause. “Where would she get her hands on something like MDMA anyways?”

“Her family is in pharmaceuticals, that's how they’ve made their fortune. I’m sure it's nothing for her to get her hands on all kinds of things.”

“That's...actually kind of scary.”

“I’ve been telling you,” he said.

“Actually you haven’t, which is why we are where we are now" There was a long pause. "You know what I keep thinking about? That necklace you mentioned."

"You want to see it?" You looked at him quizzically. "I still have it." You nodded. 

He got up off the bed and made his way to the closet. He was in there for a couple minutes before he came out with a small plastic baggie, which he handed to you before going back to his side of the bed. You turned the baggy over in your hand. The pendant was gold but tarnished with what looked like dried blood. He laid next to you watching you study it.

"Is this blood?" he nodded.

"It's his. My hands were covered in it when I picked it up."

"What's this on the back? This engraving?"

"My Gabriel, May Saint Michael protect and keep you from all evil, Love mama." You looked at him.

"This is yours?" He nodded.

"My mother gave it to me when I joined the military. I’ve always kept it with me, usually hanging off a bed post or the knob of a dresser or pinned to the wall over my bed. Just somewhere where I could look at it and think about home. Amir asked me about it a couple times when he came to hang out in my room, about the significance of it.”

“So if this is your’s, how’d he get it, how’d she get it?”

"I don't know. I didn't even know it was missing until he confronted me with it."

"Hmm."

You yawned and handed it back to him and he put it on the nightstand. You scoot close to him snuggling up into his chest as you felt tiredness come over you. He wrapped his arm around you pulling you close. 

“Tomorrow, you tell me everything you didn't tell me about Charity, leave nothing out. Promise?” 

“I promise.”

“I’m sleepy.” He smiled.

“Get some rest baby.” He kissed your forehead as you drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next afternoon Gabriel went to Charity’s office, closed the door and sat down in a chair in front of her desk. She looked at him with a smile. He looked back at her stone faced.

“I see you got my message,” she said.

“And what would that be?” he said.

“Obviously that I can get to your little girlfriend whenever I want to. If you don’t want her to end up like the last one, maybe you should be a little nicer to me Gabriel.”

“The fact that I’ve been sitting here for three minutes and you’re still breathing I’d say is plenty nice.” She chuckled.

“Oh Gabriel always with the threats. That latin machismo has always been one of the things I love about you.”

“You have no clue what love is.” 

“And you do? You really think you're in love with that...toddler. Like you claimed to be in love with me and then snatched it back.”

“Is that what this is about Charity? I hurt your feelings and you're paying me back for it.”

“On the contrary. At first I wanted revenge yes, but I’ve come to my senses since then. What I really want is for you to come back to me.”

“What?” he said.

“Come on Gabriel, even you have to admit we were good together. There was so much passion and chemistry between us. You made me feel things I had never felt with Amir. I know the same is true for you.”

“It was sex, that's it.”

“Don’t say that. You wouldn’t have felt the need to tell me you loved me, even if you didn’t mean it, if you didn’t feel something for me.” 

“Well now I feel nothing.” 

“Please, as angry as I’ve seen you get just at the sheer mention of my name. Who are you kidding? I’m a part of you. Just like you’re a part of me.”

Gabriel looked at her remaining stone-faced showing no emotion. He almost looked bored and he sighed scratching his eyebrow conveying as much. Charity stared at him searching his eyes looking for some indication that she could still get to him, that she still had a place in his life.

“Charity, you need to leave Y/N out of whatever this is. You could have killed her last night, you know that MDMA shit can be fatal." She smiled and spoke before he could say more.

"Tell me, what was it like fucking her last night? Did it turn you on how willing she was? How you could practically do anything to her and she'd not only take it but enjoy it? You should be thanking me. I did you a favor softening up that uptight little know-it-all bitch for you.” He took a deep breath.

"Look, you want to fuck with me, fine, I can take it, I’ve been putting up with you for years, but Y/N, shes innocent-”

“Is she? ‘Oh fuck me daddy please’” she mocked changing the pitch of her voice. She laughed. “Doesn’t sound too innocent to me."

He went back to his stone-faced expression. She looked at him incredulously when he didn’t react, realization coming to her.

“You really love her don’t you?” Gabriel remained silent. “Don’t you?!” she shouted.

“I’m not gonna say this again-”

“She’s a child Gabriel! What could she possibly know about pleasing you!? How can she possibly give you what you need!? She was in diapers a couple years ago! She's barely a woman!”

He got up from the chair and opened the door to leave. He turned to her.

“Well she’s more than enough woman for me and as for pleasing me? I can tell by the way you recycle these same old tactics that you don't even have the imagination to even think to do the things that come so naturally to her. For some reason you've deluded yourself into thinking you're in competition with her when you still haven't realized you're not even in her league." He said coolly with his same stone faced expression.

Charity became enraged.

“Get Out!” She screamed picking up her coffee mug and throwing it at him. 

He dodged it as it flew out the door and hit the wall across the hall, shattering. 

Jack heard the commotion and came out his office and stepped into the hall looking at the shattered mug on the ground then at Gabriel’s back. Gabriel turned from Charity’s office and began to walk away, a slow grin growing on his face. Jack looked at him like he was crazy. Gabriel felt himself about to laugh and he rushed into Jack’s office grabbing Jack’s arm and pulling him in as he shut the door and doubled over bursting into laughter.

“WHOOO!” exclaimed Gabriel as he continued to laugh.

Jack looked at him, a smile growing on his face.

“What’s so funny? I wanna laugh too.”

Gabriel finally calmed, wiping at his eyes and sat down.

“If I had known showing no feeling would cause Charity to lose her shit like that I would have done it a long time ago.”

“Well...we tried to tell you.”

“Don’t ruin my good mood Jack. This is the first time I’ve walked away from an interaction with that woman without wanting to ram my fist into a wall. Just let me have my moment.”

Jack rolled his eyes. Going to sit down behind his desk. 

“Way to take your power back I guess?” said Jack

Gabriel slapped his hand on Jack’s desk.

“Pour me a drink, we should celebrate.”

“Now you're getting carried away. Plus, I’m all out. I’ll have to add a bottle to the shopping list when Y/N goes this weekend….how is Y/N anyways?”

“She’s ok, a little sluggish today, but she’s toughing it out. I told her you said she could take the day, but she didn't want to.”

“I couldn’t help but notice how disheveled you looked when we spoke last night. You didn’t...sleep with her in her intoxicated state did you?” 

Gabriel averted his gaze a smile coming to his face.

“You dog! You hypocrite! Aren’t you the one always harping to the recruits about not taking advantage of women when they’re under the influence?” 

“She was begging me Jack. You know I can’t help but give her what she wants, spoiling her is my weakness.”

“Yea yea whatever.” Jack looked at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting in five minutes...we can have that drink you wanted tonight.”

“I’ll hold you to that."

Gabriel got up and left.

When you got home later that evening Jack and Gabriel were sitting at the island having a drink. You had trudged through the day and felt like absolute crap and your irritation level was at its max.

"Hey Y/N" said Jack, his cheerfulness annoying you, "We're celebrating, want to join us?"

You shook your head as you made your way to the bedroom

"Sorry guys, I feel like shit. Just keep it down, ok."

"Ok," they both said in unison.

You went into the room and got dressed for bed then laid down, pulling the covers over your head. You laid there for a while before you felt Gabriel climb up on the bed and scoot next to you on top of the covers, wrapping an arm around you.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I will be as soon as I get some sleep."

"Thought you wanted to hear what I left out about Charity." You sighed

"Go ahead."

"You sure, cause I could just let you sleep."

"If you were going to do that, you wouldn't be in here right now bothering me."

"Oh, I'm bothering you?"

“Yes, you're bothering me,” you snapped. He chuckled.

“Somebody’s cranky tonight.”

"Gabe!" You tried not to yell, but you knew he was trying to annoy you on purpose. You rolled onto your back and looked at him. "Just say what you have to say." he took a deep breath, face becoming serious.

“So I told you she drugged another woman. Her name was Mina. Things between us weren’t that serious, we had only been on a couple dates by the time Charity rolled into town. Somehow she lured her to some rundown motel and pretty much kept her in a cocaine induced stupor for weeks. No one who knew her had any idea she had been taken. Charity assumed her digital life and convinced everyone she had gone on a business trip out of the country. She’d get on her social media everyday and post pictures and quotes, basically made it look like Mina was out of town having the time of her life. All the while she was here being pumped full of drugs.”

He took a breath, looking at you, trying to gauge how much of the truth would be too much, but he continued.

“Somehow Mina’s credit cards ended up connected to purchases for some drug lab that had blown up around that time. The motel was charged to her card as well, that’s how the police found her and by the time they got to her she had OD’d. She lived, got into rehab, but psychologically the whole ordeal messed her up pretty bad….Remember Dr. Bialy?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“She told me she had been treating Mina during that time. Apparently she’s doing really good now. Mina had never touched a drug in her life, but because of all this she struggled with addiction for a while. I was happy to hear she was doing ok, that Charity hadn’t completely destroyed her life.”

You sat for a moment. 

“Why isn’t Charity behind bars for what she did to Mina?” He sighed.

“I know she did it, she’s even admitted as much. But there's no proof and because they had nothing to point to Charity except for Mina’s recollection, she got away with it. Mina had been in and out of lucidity for days and days on end, hallucinating, suffering all types of delusions. By the time they found her she didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Her memory was unreliable and they couldn’t convict Charity with what she could eventually piece together.”

He paused taking a deep breath, closing his eyes like he was recollecting something before opening them again. You could tell he felt guilty that more couldn’t be done for Mina.

“I did what I could, tried to dig up anything local law enforcement couldn’t on their own. I found some footage of Mina getting into a car with Charity, but that didn’t prove anything beyond the fact that Charity gave her a ride at some point. Every lead, every piece of proof I thought I had, came up short. I thought maybe the lab Mina’s credit cards were connected to would get us somewhere but, anyone who knew anything about that lab blew up in it.”

You both sat silent for a moment and a mild shiver ran down your spine as you thought about what Charity had done to Mina. Gabriel continued.

“I need you to understand how dangerous she is Y/N, how far she’s willing to go to hurt me. If anything happened to you I don’t know what I’d do...just keep our promise that you’ll steer clear of her, don’t go anywhere with her, and don’t ever be alone with her.”

“I promise.” 

He looked at you for a moment, then kissed your forehead.

“I’ll let you get some sleep now.” he said, scooting over to get off the bed. You grabbed his arm.

“Wait, you drop all this horrific shit on me before I go to sleep and now you're just gonna leave?”

“I thought I was bothering you.”

“Get your ass over here and hold me you jerk.” 

He smiled and got up so he could pull the covers back before getting under them still fully clothed. He pulled you to him so you faced him as he wrapped his arms around you and kissed your forehead again

“You're so grumpy tonight Y/N...and demanding.” 

“Shut up.” He chuckled.

You wrapped your arms around him snuggling into his chest holding him tight.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you Y/N. You know I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe right?”

You nodded against his chest. 

“I love you,” you said. 

“I love you too.”

You laid there clinging to him for a while as he rubbed your back. What he told you had frightened you and that coupled with the fact that Charity had just drugged you the night before, frightened you even more. God only knew what else this woman was capable of and she had been essentially terrorizing Gabriel and anyone who got close to him for years. Somehow, someway, you were going to figure out a way to put an end to this and get Charity out of his life for good.

One afternoon the following week, you made a trip to the drugstore to replenish toiletries that were getting low in supply. As you left the store you heard shouting and turned in the direction it was coming from to see a man yelling at Charity, following her as she walked swiftly to her car.

“...I knew it! You're starting this shit up all over again! When is enough gonna be enough for you!?” the man shouted. She spun on him quickly.

“Keep your voice down.” she said, before continuing to talk to him in a lowered tone so you couldn’t hear what was being said.

You took your phone out of your bag and snuck a few photos of the man as you made your way to your car, neither of them noticing you as you crossed the parking lot. You got in your car and watched the exchange between this man and Charity. Whatever they were talking about, the conversation was heated and both parties looked upset with one another. 

When they parted ways you watched the man walk to his car and waited for him to pull out and leave the parking lot. You decided to follow him. You maintained a distance of two cars behind the man and followed him to a trailer park on the edge of town. You made a note of which trailer he parked in front of and went into then marked the address of the trailer park on the map on your phone, before pulling off and making your way back home.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, you were walking down the hall to the studio when you heard Charity calling your name.

“Y/N! Hey Y/N wait up.” 

You reluctantly stopped and turned around.

“You sure do walk fast.” she said as she caught up to you and came to a stop.

“What is it Charity? I really don’t have time to talk and especially not to you.” She smiled.

“I guess you're mad at me about the MDMA.”

“You think!?”

“Oh Y/N, I was just trying to help you loosen up a bit. You seem so uptight all the time.”

“Only around you. Now if you’ll excuse me-” you were turning from her to walk away.

“Wait, actually I stopped you because I need your help.”

“My help?”

“Yes, you’ve lived here a while and from what I’ve seen of you at these events you seem to have pretty good taste. A girlfriend of mine is coming into town for the weekend and I was wondering if you knew of any good places for breakfast or brunch?”

“I know a few.” Her face lit up.

“Great! You know, how about you join us?”

What was wrong with this woman? She had just drugged you a week ago and now she was asking you brunch like you were her new bestie. Everything in you wanted to tell her to go to hell, to kiss your ass, but if you were going to get Gabriel free of this women you needed all the information on her you could get. This could be a golden opportunity.

“Um…”

“Please, it’ll be my treat, consider it an apology for what happened at the event.” 

You immediately thought of the promise you had made to Gabriel not to go anywhere with Charity. He would never say it, but he was afraid of this woman, and frankly so were you which is why you carefully looked in her eyes searching for deceit but she was genuine.

“I...guess I-” 

Excellent! Here’s my number,” she pulled her card out her pocket and handed it to you. “My girlfriend is a bit of a snob so the most expensive or expensive looking place you know of will do. Text me the details.”

“O..Ok.”

“Great!” She touched your elbow, cupping it with her cold hand, which made the hairs on your arm stand on end. She looked in your eyes and gave you a charming smile. “ See you then.” She turned and walked away.

That Sunday Gabriel stayed home with you. You were supposed to be sleeping in together but you got up early and dressed in a black knee length bodycon tank dress with wedge sneakers and a jean jacket. Not too dressed up, not too dressed down you thought. You put everything you needed into a crossbody bag, kissed Gabriel on the cheek, causing him to mumble in his sleep, and left out the door. 

You drove to the restaurant steeling your nerves for what you were about to do. You tried to calm the fear the rose the closer you got to the restaurant assuring yourself that her friend would be there. She wouldn’t do anything crazy to you in front of her friend. Unless her friend was crazy too… You shook your head, reminding yourself why you were doing this in the first place. This was for Gabriel and you’d do anything for him, even have brunch with a woman who scared the mess out of you.

When you got to the restaurant Charity was already there standing outside talking on the phone. She smiled when she saw you walking up and concluded her call when you met her on the sidewalk.

“You look cute this morning Y/N.”

“Um...thanks?”

“We’re just waiting for Jilian. They won’t seat us until everyone’s here. She’s late to everything.” You nodded although the thought of being alone with Charity for even a second made you want to bolt. “Should we wait inside?”

“Sure,” you said quickly.

She abruptly linked her arm with yours which startled you a bit and you both began to walk into the restaurant and have a seat on a two person bench in the waiting area that was just beginning to clear out as other patrons were escorted to their tables. Charity sat a little too close for your liking. 

“So what did Gabriel say about you coming out here?” asked Charity. “I know how protective of you he is when it comes to me.”

“He doesn’t know I’m here.” She smiled. 

“You sure that won’t be a problem for you, you know, because I’m supposedly so dangerous.”

“You are dangerous Charity.” 

“Surely you mean that only in the best possible ways.” she squeezed your knee letting her hand linger as she giggled and you tried not to flinch at her touch.

“Can you not do that?”

“What’s that?

“Touch me” She removed her hand.

“My apologies. I just think a beautiful woman such as yourself should be touched.” You looked at her incredulously.

“Excuse me?”

“Is it not obvious by now? I’m very attracted to you Y/N.” 

You blinked. How the hell would that be obvious?

“What?...So you’re...you’re hitting on me?”

“I thought that was clear, but maybe you prefer Gabriel’s style of come on.”

“I….I..” 

You were dumbfounded. You thought she only had eyes for Gabriel. Why was she suddenly supposedly turning her attention to you? Was all of this just some elaborate game?

Suddenly a woman with bleach blonde hair and an outfit that screamed “country club chic” entered the restaurant. She made a b-line for Charity.

“Sorry I’m late, I just could not get my eyelashes to curl the way I wanted them to.”

Charity stood and they did air kisses.

“I’ve invited a friend to join us, we’ll do introductions at the table.” said Charity.

You all went to the hostess stand to let them know you were ready to be seated and they led you through the restaurant to your table.

“Jilian this is Y/N, Gabriel’s girlfriend.”

“Gabriel? You mean your Gabriel?” Jilian asked surprised.

“Her Gabriel now” said Charity

“Woooow. So Y/N how long have you two been together? Are wedding plans around the corner?”

“Oh no it's still fairly new.” you said.

“Well, you can’t go wrong with him for a husband. At least he’s good in bed. Not like my husband. My motto is if you have to be with a man get one that's either good in bed or has a big wallet to make up for having to lay there and put up with him.”

“What about love?” you asked.

Jilian burst into laughter. 

“Oh my goodness Charity she’s too cute. Marriage is a business transaction honey, love has no place in the equation.”

You raised your eyebrows.

A waiter came and took your drink orders and Jilian continued talking. She barely let anyone else get a word in edgewise. Oddly enough Charity just let her go on and on smiling the whole time. The drinks coming seemed to be the only thing that shut her up for half a second.

“Oh my God Charity did I tell you? Michael’s family is talking about cutting him off,” she turned to you. “Michael is my husband by the way,” you nodded. “He calls himself trying to be some big shot investor. He lost a shit-ton of money from the trust. Now he thinks he’s going to do his investing with my inheritance. I think not. Thank God for prenups, he won’t be able to touch a dime.”

“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that,” said Charity. “I didn’t have a prenup, unlike you and your motto I actually did marry for love….I’ll be right back ladies, nature calls.”

Charity got up and left the table. 

“Ha! I can’t believe she’s still using that line. Married for love my ass. Her and Amir got married because he knocked her up. According to her she would have gotten rid of the baby but she had 50 million reasons not to.” Jilian leaned in close to you. “You didn’t hear this from me, but there was a clause in her trust. At the time she only had partial access to it and was pulling a small allowance but if she got married and got pregnant within a year of the marriage not only did she get full access to her trust but she got an extra $50 million on top of it.”

“Hmmm.” you replied nodding approvingly.

“I know right?” She leaned back over in her chair taking as sip from her drink. “She lucked out though. That woman doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. I couldn’t see her raising a dog let alone a child and frankly she never wanted them, stretch marks and all that.”

You nodded.

“She ended up losing the baby, but she got millions to make up for it.”

“What was their marriage like, her and Amir?” you asked.

“Amir was head over heels in love with her, almost to obsession. He worshiped the ground she walked on and her father loved him. He was like the son he never had. But Charity, she could barely stand the sight of Amir. She always thought of him as the man she got stuck with. But like I said marriage is a business transaction and no one understood that better than Charity. She wanted that money more than anything else so she’d play the doting wife while Amir was home but when he was away, which was a lot, she’d play around.”

“Play around? So she had other affairs?”

“Oh you didn’t think Gabriel was her first affair did you? She’d been philandering for years prior to him, he’s just the first one she seemed to get attached to. Poor Amir, he had his head so far up her ass he never suspected a thing. I actually felt sorry for him. He was actually a good man, interesting, attractive, he wasn’t rich, but hell, you can only get so lucky. I considered marrying him just to take him off her hands and I was already married myself by then.”

“Can I ask? Why are you telling me all this? Aren’t you Charity’s friend?”

“Well, between you and me, Charity tried to seduce my husband. She doesn’t know I know about it. I might loathe that man from here to kingdom come, but he’s mine and she violated girl code, so I have no qualms about airing her dirty laundry up and down the Eastern Hemisphere. I’m sure I’ll get over if eventually, but until then, her business is fair game.”

You raised your eyebrows as you sipped your drink. You could now see why Charity was friends with Jilian. There was ruthlessness about her that was similar to her own. Charity returned to the table.

“What were you two talking about?” She said looking between the both of you.

“About how cheap the champagne in these mimosas taste. I thought this place was upscale Charity?” said Jilian.

“Y/N picked this place. Give her credit for trying Jillian. Our definition of upscale and hers is...different.”

You rolled your eyes.

When you had all finished eating and you had hit the bottom of the bottomless mimosas, Jilian left the table to go freshen up her makeup. 

“Thank you Y/N, this really was quite delightful. See? I’m not as bad as Gabriel makes me out to be.” said Charity with a grin.

“You drugged me Charity, I’d say that’s pretty bad.”

“Oh that. Can’t we just put that little faux pa behind us?” She reached under the table and put her hand on your thigh, a little too close to your center then you’d like and smiled at you.

You slapped her hand away and she laughed.

“You can’t stop thinking about it, can you? The way my fingers felt on your little puss. I know I can’t.” 

“Actually I hadn’t thought about it until you just brought it up”

“Oh Y/N, that hurts my feelings....I’ve been thinking. What if we share Gabriel? Or better yet what if Gabriel and I share you? I find I’m quite captivated by you, I can see why he’s in love with you.”

“Yeah that’s never gonna happen. Are we done here? I have things to do after this.”

“We were actually going to get a bit of shopping done. I was hoping you’d join, my treat of course. I’d love to see what looks that cute body of yours can pull off. But if you must go...” 

“I must,” you said, putting the strap of your crossbody bag over your head as you stood. She grabbed your hand stroking the back of it with her thumb and you snatched it away from her. 

“Enjoy your afternoon sweetheart. I’ll be thinking about you and that sweet little snatch.” 

You glared at her for a moment then turned from her and left.

When you got outside you checked your phone. You had a few texts and voicemails from Gabriel wanting to know where you were. 

You decided you’d give Gabriel a call when you got in the car. You hit the button on the fob to unlock the doors as you walked, thinking about everything Jilian had just told you and how useful it was or wasn’t to you. You saw a towncar pull up to the front of the restaurant and Jilian got in. 

“Guess their shopping plans changed,” you thought. 

When you got to the drivers side of the car, you reached for the handle when you heard someone running up behind you. You swiftly turned around to see Charity charging at you with a syringe. You slapped her hand, knocking it to the ground. You swiftly dropped to the ground sweeping your leg so you knocked her feet out from under her and she hit the ground, hard. You got on top of her and wrapped your hands around her neck, lifting her head and slamming it back into the ground.

“You crazy bitch! You were gonna drug me again!?” you shouted.

“You can't blame me for trying” she sputtered as you closed your hands tighter on her neck. 

She began to claw at your hands as you continued to press on her throat, rage in your eyes. You kept pressing her neck watching her eyes as they filled with fear and surprise. You smiled 

“Not the sweet little helpless girl you thought I was, am I?! AM I!?” you screamed. ”You ever touch me again I will fucking end you, you fucking psycho!” 

You held her neck a bit more until she started to squirm unable to breathe. You let her go standing up as she gasped and coughed on the ground. You gave her one more glance before you turned from her reaching into your bag to pull out a tissue. You walked over to where the syringe fell and picked it up off the ground using the tissue, which you carefully wrapped around it. You walked back to get in your car. Charity was still on the ground trying to compose herself. You got in, hitting her legs with the door. You backed out and sped off.

Your mind raced as you drove. You couldn’t believe Charity had just done that and you were kicking yourself for convincing yourself something like this wouldn’t happen, that having her friend there would be some kind of buffer.

You thought about how your hands had felt around her neck, how you could feel her pulse quicken as your grip tightened, how she had looked at you with fear. Something about that look pleased you, because for once it wasn’t you with that look on your face. For once a tormentor had stopped seeing you as nice and sweet and had realized you could be just as monstrous and beastly as them, that you could take their life just as easily as they wanted to take yours. 

The steering wheel started jerking side to side. You realized your hands were shaking and you pulled over. You shakily pressed the button on the steering wheel to make a call. 

“Give command.”

“Call Gabriel.”

“Calling Gabriel.”

“Y/N what happened to you this morning. I woke up and you weren't there. Where have you been?

“Where are you?” you asked.

“At home, where you're supposed to be. Why?” 

“I think I need you to come get me.” There was a pause.

“Where?” You looked up at the street signs in the intersection ahead of you.

“Um...I’m downtown parked at the intersection of Main Street and 63rd.”

“Are you ok Y/N?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m on my way.”

About fifteen minutes later, Gabriel pulled up behind you. He got out his car and came to the passengers side of yours getting in. He looked at you.

“What happened? Where have you been all morning?”

“I couldn’t stop shaking. I didn’t think I was going to be able to drive the rest of the way home.”

“Y/N?” you reached across and grabbed his hand needing something to anchor you.

“When I was on top of her squeezing the air out of her throat...I just thought I could kill her now and we could be done with all of this. It would be so easy and it just disturbed me. The ease of it all.”

“What are you talking about, baby?” 

You let go of his hand and grabbed your bag pulling out the tissue with the syringe in it. You opened it and showed him.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“Charity. She tried to stick me with it.” he looked at you in shock. “I was thinking maybe we could get it tested, see what’s in it. Her prints are on it. If it's an illegal substance we’ve got her for possession at least. I don’t know how far things will go if I press charges against her, probably not far at all, she has the money to make something like that go away. But it's something.”

Gabriel got stuck on the Charity trying to stick you with the syringe part and was having a hard time following you after that.

“Wait a minute. Is that where you’ve been all morning? With Charity?” you nodded.

“Her friend came into town, she invited me for brunch.”

He felt his irritation rise.

“So to hell with what we agreed, right? Eggs fucking benedict is more important than your safety?”

“That's not why I went. I figured the friend would have information we could use. I thought if I could get close to Charity-”

“Get close to her? Are you fucking insane? Have you not been paying attention to everything I’ve told you about this woman, everything that's happened? There is no getting close to Charity. She destroys everything within her field of vision, especially women, especially women attached to me. What about this are you not getting Y/N?!”

“I get it-”

“Obviously you don’t. You think you're just going to go out here running around playing amateur detective and everything is just going to wrap up for you in a neat little bow? Charity goes away and everything is rainbows and sunshine? I do this shit for a living Y/N, espionage, the whole fucking nine, and let me tell you something. Even for someone as experienced as me this shit is messy and unpredictable. Even after executing the most carefully laid plans people still fucking die Y/N and we don’t always get our man. You are in way over your fucking head and the scary thing is you don’t even know it. At this point, I’m not asking, I’m not suggesting, and I’m not begging, I’m telling you, right now, to drop this before you get hurt. She’s here temporarily. We wait her out, then get on with our lives.”

“And when she comes back?” He looked at you, he didn’t have an answer. “I’m not going to be beholden to this bitch every time she decides to drop by. I won’t live like that and I’m shocked that you would just sit here and accept that.” 

He took a deep breath, his anger rising.

“You think this shit doesn’t burn me up inside. I didn’t fight in a fucking war and risk my fucking life so people could walk around freely without fear to then turn around and have the women I love not be able to, to have you held hostage to the whims of some crazy person I stuck my dick in once. But I’ll choke on my pride and stuff my anger every fucking day of my life if that's what I have to do to keep you safe, to keep you alive.”

He grabbed your face looking in your eyes.

“This is all I know to do Y/N. Until I can do better, this is all I can fucking do.” There was a pause while you looked at each other. “You’re stopping this, yes?”

“Yes.” you said, reluctance in your voice. He took a deep breath then pulled your head to himself and kissed your forehead.

“I love you,” he said.

I love you too.” 

“You ok to drive or you want to ride with me?”

“I think I can drive now.” 

“I’m right behind you if you change your mind.” You nodded. 

He got out and returned to his car starting it and waiting for you to pull off so he could follow you. You wrapped the syringe back up in the tissue and put it back in your bag, then started your car and pulled off. 

That night while you slept, Gabriel reached into your bag and took out the syringe. He put it in a plastic baggie and put it into the pocket of the pants he was planning to wear the next day.


	9. Chapter 9

Early the next afternoon Gabriel found himself in Jack’s office.

“Any news on that syringe I gave you?” asked Gabriel.

“It’s what you thought...and not what you thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“My contact said it was some kind of experimental strain of synthetic cocaine, something she had never seen before, she’s still trying to reverse engineer it” Gabriel sighed, shaking his head as he looked down, thinking about how close you came to being injected with whatever was in that syringe. “Still, I’ve gotta say, if Charity is nothing else she’s consistent.”

“Shit Jack.” Exhaled Gabriel. They sat silent for a moment. “I thought about it last night while I watched her sleep. We’ve got empty safehouses out in the field. What if I just sent Y/N away.”

Jack sat thinking. “That’s an idea.” 

“Would you-” started Gabriel. Jack cut him off.”

“For Y/N, without hesitation.” Gabriel looked at him a little surprised. Jack smiled.

“You forget, I loved her first.” Gabriel smiled, chuckling a bit, shaking his head.

“She’s got us both wrapped around her little fingers. Imagine that.”

Later on that day you pulled Jesse aside when he came in for your functional stretching class. You decided it was probably safer to come at this thing with Charity from a different angle.

“Jesse, you guys use facial recognition here right? Like, if I gave you a photo of someone you guys can figure out who it is? ”

“Yeah, who you tryna look up?” You took a deep breath.

“Ok, I’m gonna send you a photo. If I do this, it stays between us. Gabriel can’t find out and neither can Jack.” 

“Tsk tsk tsk keeping secrets from Reyes. He’s not gonna be too happy about that.” 

“I’m doing this to help him. So will you keep this between us or no?”

“Of course I will. You know I can keep a secret Y/N.”

“Good,” you texted him the photo of the man from the drugstore and he took out his phone and looked at it. “I need everything you can find out about this guy.” he nodded.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

That night, Gabriel sat in the middle of the bed and had you sit in his lap. He pecked your lips, his hands roaming your back as you wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing your chest to his, kissing his neck and shoulders. 

“I need to talk to you,” he said.

You pulled back looking at him. Smiling as you pecked his lips, then kept doing it. He smiled against your mouth.

“Baby….I-” You fully pressed your lips to his in a slow kiss that you began to deepen. He began to follow your lead then pulled back.

“I really need to talk to you.”

You leaned forward, capturing his mouth again as he ran his hands up your back, one hand moving up into your hair as you put both hands on his face. He pulled back some and began to peck your lips with a smile.

“We gotta stop,” he whispered against your mouth.

“I don’t wanna stop,” you whispered back.

“I know, but I need to talk to you.”

“Ok, but don’t take too long,” he chuckled, pulling back from you so he could look at your face.

“So what are we talking about,” you said.

“I think it’d be a good idea if I sent you away for a while to one of the safehouses. Just until Charity leaves.” You sat there looking at him thinking.

“Would you be coming with me?” He shook his head. “Then I don’t want to do it.”

“Y/N.”

“No Gabriel. I’m not running away and you’re not sending me away for God knows how long to God knows where, alone. What about my classes?”

“They’ll be on hold.” You started to shake your head. “Y/N at least consider doing this...for me. I haven’t been able to breathe since Charity got here. My heart is in my throat everytime you walk out of that door. If I know you're somewhere safe, somewhere she can’t get to you I could relax a bit...Don't you want me to relax?”

“No, I want you to suffer,” you pouted exaggeratedly sticking out your bottom lip. “What am I gonna do there? It's gonna be boring.”

“We’ll send you somewhere close to a beach or something. It’ll be like a vacation.”

“A vacation without you.”

“I’ll drop by when I can, call you everyday...We can try out phone sex.”

“Oh yea cause phone sex is a great substitue for the real thing,” you said sarcastically rolling your eyes.

He kissed your chin. “We could make it fun.”

“How?” 

He put his hand up your shirt and grabbed your breast stroking your nipple with his thumb as he looked at you with a smirk. 

“I could fuck you in all the ways you like everyday until you leave, so you have something to think about while your gone.” You smiled.

“That might convince me.” He lifted your shirt with his other hand so your breasts were exposed. He squeezed the one he was already playing with, your nipple hard as he began to lick at it with his tongue.

“I thought that would.” he said, continuing to lick your nipple as you slid your fingers into his hair. He drew it into his mouth beginning to suck and you released a low breathy moan. He pulled back looking at you lust in his eyes. “How you want it tonight baby? Tonight you’re in charge.”

You got off his lap, coming up onto your knees, pulling your shirt over your head. You began to scoot to the top of the bed moving the pillows out the way before gripping the headboard pressing your chest to it. 

“Come and get me.” you said, looking back at him.

He got up on his knees, losing his shirt, pulling down his boxers, as he scoot on his knees to you. He pressed his chest to your back wrapping one arm around your waist as he pulled you back to him beginning to kiss along the column of your neck as he placed his other hand over yours on the headboard. He was inching his hand at your waist into the front of your panties when you stopped him.

“Wait.” You breathed. He stopped his hand. “You have to get me off without touching me there.”

“What am I supposed to do with my hands in the meantime?”

“Anything you want except touch between my legs.” 

He sighed, then began pulling down your panties rubbing his hand between your thighs dangerously close to your center. It made you moan with anticipation as his lips continued their journey of kisses along your neck. He lined his member up and you arched some, instinctively, holding your entrance up to him as he began to press into you. You leaned you head back against his shoulder closing your eyes as your mouth dropped open with a gasp.

He kept his hand over yours on the headboard as his other hand began to roam your front caressing your stomach before sliding his hand over your breast rubbing your nipple with his palm sending shockwaves of sensation to your center. He pulled his hips back some and thrust into you and you let out what sounded like a relieved sigh. He moved his hand from yours and wrapped it around your waist as he began to set a moderate pace.

He pulled you into his thrusts, your moans increasing in volume with each one as he gripped your breast fighting the urge to reach between your legs. This was such a perfect position for that. Instead he gripped your thigh as he ratcheted up the power behind his thrusts fucking into you harder. You gripped the headboard tighter. 

“Harder Gabriel” you moaned. 

He placed his hand on your neck, his large hand engulfing it as he pulled you closer against him, then changed tempo, slowing down his pace as he snapped his hips into yours with a grunt pushing you both forward until you were sandwiched between him and the headboard the momentum from each forceful thrust making your hips smack into the headboard and bounce back into him before he impaled you again nearly pulling out of you all the way before he hit home again and again and again. 

Your moans filled the room along with Gabriel’s grunts and the smacking of the headboard against the wall, your hand long releasing its grip on it to instead join Gabriel’s hand at your neck. He didn’t squeeze, just held you something about the warmth of his palm and the press of each of his fingertips on your skin sending shivers through you. He pressed his mouth to your ear.

“Let me touch you,” he breathed. “Let me play with that pretty clit. Let daddy make you feel good.” He licked the shell of your ear. “Please baby.”

“Yes.” you moaned. 

He slid his hand between your thighs, two of his fingers quickly finding their destination, his quick rubbing adding to the pleasure he was already creating by his hard deep thrusts inside you. You shouted a moan before you devolved into a series of high pitched whines and whimpers. 

“I love how you sound when I play with your pussy.” Gabriel breathed low in your ear.

Pretty soon, the buildup of pleasure was starting to become too much and you reached behind Gabriel’s head to grab his hair, tugging it as you tried to hold onto control. 

“Cum,” he said, before he smacked your clit with his hand, making you shout. “Cum,” he smacked it harder. “Cum Y/N,” he smacked it harder still. 

“Oh Fuck!” you yelled as your body went rigid against him, hips jerking back and forth as you gripped his hair harder and clawed at his hand around your neck. Your pulsing and undulating insides rapidly gripping and releasing his length was too much and he snapped his hips into you one last time before pumping his seed into you his low moans joining yours as you both rode out your respective orgasms. 

As Gabriel came down, panting, from his high he slowly came down on his knees and laid back on the bed bringing you with him and rolling you both onto your sides. You both laid like that until your breathing returned to normal, until you started to fight to keep your eyes open. Suddenly you felt him begin to rub at your over-sensitive clit again and your hips jumped at his touch.

“Gabriel” you whispered.

“Shhh, just let me play with you, just until we fall asleep.”

You laid there whimpering softly as he rubbed at you until his hand slowed and then stopped as he drifted off.

The next day when your classes were over you met Jesse in his room to go over everything he was able to dig up.

“So from what I could find, that man’s name is Dr. Niles Courtland and he apparently died in a meth lab explosion some years ago.”

“What?” 

“That’s what it says. Where’d you get that photo anyways?”

“I took it at the drugstore the other day.” Jesse looked at you raising his eyebrows.

“What exactly are you mixed up in Y/N?” You sighed.

“It's better if you don’t know.” Jesse sighed.

“Y/N, you're already keeping this from Jefe and Morrison which is probably a bad idea all around….Just promise me if you get into trouble, you’ll let me know.”

“I promise.”

Early evening after your classes the next day, you drove out to the trailer park where you had followed Dr. Courtland. You went to the leasing office first. There was a man in a plaid shirt and trucker hat sitting behind a desk with his feet up reading a magazine. When he noticed you he sat up and grinned at you.

“How can I help you miss?” 

“Hi. I’m trying to locate a friend of mine, Niles Courtland? I think he told me he was in trailer five, but silly me, I didn’t write it down.”

“Trailer five is Reese Nightingale. No one by the name Courtland lives here miss.”

“No? Oh I must have written that down wrong too. I guess I’ll give him a call. Thanks for your help.” You waved at the man as you made your way out the office. 

You walked over to trailer five. It was the trailer you had seen Dr. Courtland go into. You walked up the steps and knocked on the door. It cracked open, so only half of the man's face could be seen.

“Hi. Are you Reese Nightingale?”

“Yeah. Look lady, whatever your selling, I don’t want it. Try trailer two. Mrs. Combs, she’s a hoarder.”

He started to close the door and you put your hand against it to stop him.

“Dr. Courtland please. I just need to talk to you.” 

His eye went wide as anger and fear turned his features. 

"Who the fuck are you?! How do you know my name!? How did you find me?! Who sent you?!

“I found you on my own." 

You heard a gun cock but couldn't see it. 

"You get away from my door right now!"

You held your hands up, eyes going wide, but you persisted. 

"Please, Dr. Courtland-"

"Stop saying my name so loud!," 

"I just need information on Charity that’s all. She drugged me and she's terrorizing my boyfriend. I just need to know everything I can to put her away. Please, I just want to talk, please.”

He looked at you for a minute searching your eyes, confirming the sincerity in them before opening the door fully. You had never seen Dr. Courtland face on, only from profile and now you understood why he had cracked the door. One side of his face was scared from what looked like burns that went down his neck and into his shirt from what you could tell.

“You better come in then,” he said. You went into his trailer as he stuck his head out the door looking left and right before he closed it behind you.


	10. Chapter 10

Dr. Courtland’s trailer was narrow and in need of a good cleaning. There were beer bottles and food wrappers all over the place. The sink was full of dishes that had food rotting on them and the counters were covered in grime. He led you to a couch that was covered in piles of books and magazines that he quickly pushed to one side so you could sit down. You took a seat and he sat across from you in a chair.

“So you want to know about Charity….Do you have some kind of death wish?” 

“Um...well….first I was hoping you would tell me about you. According to official records you're dead. Yet here you are. I mean, you are Dr. Niles Courtland, right?” 

“That’s right.”

“So what happened?” he sighed. 

“You wanted to know about Charity right? I’ll tell you about Charity.” He took a deep breath then continued, “My wife and I were scientists. We developed drugs, pharmaceuticals but we sort of operated on the fringes of ethics. We were willing to do whatever it took in pursuit of new discoveries and techniques even if what we did wasn’t the most moral or safe so we weren’t welcome in most scientific circles. 

Charity’s family is in pharmaceuticals and she was desperate to make her mark in her father’s company, but her ideas, the drugs she wanted to develop...they’re dangerous to make and are pretty much banned in most if not all countries. There was no way in hell her father was going to devote resources to what Charity wanted to do. Anyways she ended up meeting my wife and convinced her to come work at a lab that I later found out Charity had put together on her own. 

My wife convinced me to come on board and we, along with three other scientists got to work making all kinds of things on the cutting edge of science. It was some of the best work I had ever done in my life. I felt like I was finally fulfilling my purpose. But that all came crashing down.” He paused, looking down thoughtfully, before he took another deep breath and continued.

“Charity had everyone convinced that the lab had been sanctioned by her father's company, that we were working off book on projects contracted by the government. She swore that even though what we were doing couldn’t be talked about, the techniques we developed would be published so that the world would know what we had accomplished. Call it vanity or ego but as someone who had pretty much been snubbed by the scientific community that meant a lot to me. Finally, I’d be getting some sort of recognition as a real bonafide scientist, not some quack who skirted the edge of right and wrong on a regular basis.” 

He sighed.

“I waited and waited and she just kept saying soon. So I called her father’s company to speak with someone responsible for getting scientific findings published and that's when I found out they had no idea who I was, no idea about Charity’s lab, and no idea what we were doing. This was all just some vanity project for Charity to prove her dad wrong and the drugs that we developed….she was selling them on the black market.

A week after I made that call I received one from a woman claiming to be an investigator from Charity’s father's company. She said they knew about the lab and were working with law enforcement to take Charity down. She wanted to meet, wanted me to turn over information, said if I cooperated neither myself nor any of the scientists would be implicated. I went to the meeting spot and waited and waited. No one ever showed.” 

He paused, the look on his face becoming pained as his eyes started to fill with tears.

“When I got to the lab, there were chains on the door. Suddenly I saw my wife running to the door pounding on it begging me to open it. A split second later the lab exploded. Everything, my wife, the scientists we worked with, our work, it all went up in flames.” He paused again, taking a deep breath, trying to keep himself composed. “When I came to, I was in a hospital bed in some private practice of a doctor Charity knew. One side of my body felt like it was on fire and there was Charity glaring at me. That’s when she let me know that my actions, my ego, had tipped off her father's company about what she was doing and had given her no other alternative but to destroy the lab and anyone who knew anything about it along with it. She had orchestrated the call from the supposed investigator to delay me, to keep me alive, so that I’d have to live with the knowledge that I was the cause of my wife’s death.”

You both sat there in silence for a moment before he went on.

“Sparing me wasn’t just for revenge. Charity wanted me to help her create an automated means to mass produce the drugs we had created. She said if I didn’t help her she’d pin the lab explosion on me. She had the police thinking it was a meth lab that had blown up and if she pointed the finger at me I’d end up in prison for the rest of my life. She had already gotten some junkie mixed up in it, had used her credit cards to lead them to her. So I knew she wasn't bluffing. I gave her what she wanted.

When my work was done, I went into hiding, from her, from the world. They already believed I was dead so it was easy and I was determined to stay hidden, until I found though means I’d rather not talk about that she's starting up another lab and I knew I couldn’t stay hidden any longer. I can’t sit idle and watch her kill more people. She killed my wife. I don’t care about me anymore and I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. I have to stop her."

There was a pause.

“You look like a nice girl. You're no match for Charity. That woman is evil incarnate. So here’s what you should know about Charity. Stay the fuck away from her, before she destroys you like she destroyed my wife, like she destroyed me.”

A short while later you and Dr. Courtland exchanged emails and you left, making your way home. You thought deeply as you drove. Gabriel had been right to try to look into the lab and where he had come up short you had stumbled upon a goldmine. You thought about whether you should tell him about what you found out, whether you should tell him about Dr. Courtland, but you felt like you needed more proof than just Dr. Courtland's word regardless of how credible and compelling his story was. When you went to Gabriel with what you had found out you wanted to have enough to put the nails in Charity's proverbial coffin. You decided to hold off until you could do just that. But now you knew, Charity wasn't just crazy, she was a killer and she'd kill whenever it suited her purposes. You'd have to be way more careful around her going forward.

Gabriel was walking through the hall the next morning. Charity was coming up from the other side and he stopped when they passed.

“Cocaine, Charity?” She stopped and turned to look at him. 

“A little heavy handed I’ll admit, but I’m competing with you. I need an edge.”

“Competing with...wait, what?...What’s happening here?” he said, confused. She smiled.

“I get it now Gabriel, what draws you to her. All it took was for me to stick my fingers in her warm," she forced him against the wall, "tight," she ran her hands up his chest gripping his shoulders, "pussy" she kissed his cheek, "and I understood." 

At some point Gabriel had short circuited, so bewildered by what Charity was saying that he stopped registering what she was doing. She was still pressed against him holding his shoulders.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he said.

“Give me Y/N.”

“Like she would ever let you anywhere near her. She’s not some fucking plaything Charity. Listen to yourself. Give her to you? She’s not my property. She’s not yours either.”

“Oh Gabriel don’t be bitter because I’ve moved on.”

“What’s it gonna take for you to stop?”

“We could share her Gabriel. Isn’t that every man's dream? Two women at once.” He scrunched his face in disgust. He wasn’t expecting that answer. He grabbed her wrists, removing her hands from himself, pushing her back.

“Your fucking sick.”

“What? Afraid I’ll satisfy her better than you?”

He glared at her at a loss for words

"Give her up and you can go on about your life doing whatever it is you do and you don’t have to worry about me ever again.” He looked at her dumbfounded. She pat his cheek with a smile and turned walking back in the direction she had been going and he turned his head watching her go.

A little later on you were wrapping up a class and as the recruits left Charity slipped in. Jesse was the last to leave and as you turned around to see Charity posted up on the wall, you stopped Jesse from leaving. 

“Jesse! Stay here, stay right there.” He stopped turning to look at you. You walked toward Charity. “What do you want?”

“To let you know I won’t have you charged with assault. You gave me mild concussion Y/N”

“Assault! Are you fucking kidding me?! You tried to drug me, I defended myself!”

“Yeah see, that might be true but I can afford to make the truth whatever I want it to be, can you?”

“Get out Charity! Get out of my fucking studio!”

“Well actually I wasn’t done. I won’t have you charged with assault if you go on a date with me.”

“Are you insane? I wouldn’t go with you to the bathroom let alone on a date.”

“Well, we all know what happens between us in bathrooms.”

Jesse had been standing there for the whole exchange looking between you both as you spoke. Eyes going wider and wider the more he heard.

“Have me charged then Charity. I really don’t care.”

“Why? Because you think your precious Strike Commander will get you out of trouble? I found out he’s done that for you before. Then he brings you to work here only to turn around and have to bail you out again? One might think of that as one too many abuses of his position for you. Some of the higher ups might not like that too much.”

You felt anger rising within you.

“You leave Jack out of this.” 

“Go on a date with me and none of this ever touches Jack. Tell you what. I’ll give you two days to mull it over. On Thursday night I’ll send a car for you. Get in the car or don’t, either way I’ll have my answer.”

You glared at her. 

“I hope you make the right choice Y/N but I'm pretty sure you will. I have some information you might want, information about your mother."

"What the hell could you possibly know about my mother?"

"Join me on Thursday and find out. Ta Ta Y/N." Charity turned to leave.

Jesse’s mouth hung open as he turned to you.

"Don't say anything Jesse."

He closed his mouth, then opened it again to speak.

"Don't," you said.

He sighed, then turned and left.


	11. Chapter 11

You had been going back and forth with yourself for the past two days on whether or not you should take Charity up on her offer for a date. You hadn’t told Gabriel or Jack about it, knowing they’d shut it down immediately. Knowing what you now knew about Charity, the thought of being anywhere near her made a cold chill run down your spine but this was a prime opportunity to get her talking, you’d be a fool not to take it. It was also a prime opportunity for Charity to hurt you, you’d be a fool to put yourself in that kind of danger. Gabriel was already so worried he wanted to send you away, it’d be wrong to worry him more. But if you got the information you needed you could put his mind at ease once and for all, at least where Charity was concerned.

You had a delivery of boxes to the studio right as you wrapped up your last class for the day. Attached was a card.

“The car will be in front of HQ at 7p. Put these on. Hope to see you tonight.  
-Charity”

You locked up the studio and took the boxes to your room in the Overwatch barracks. You opened the boxes to find an expensive black designer dress with matching clutch bag, designer heels and expensive black lingerie. You rolled your eyes at the lingerie. You hoped she didn't intend for you to model it for her. You had a couple hours before the car was supposed to arrive. You showered then got dressed in the lingerie and the black dress with a square neckline and spaghetti straps that just barely covered where your garter belt attached to black stockings. You wore your hair down. When the time came a black town car was waiting right outside of HQ. You didn’t notice Jesse who had been standing off to the side smoking. He watched you get into the towncar all dressed up and watched it take off.

The town car pulled up in front of an expensive looking restaurant. The driver got out and opened your door. Charity was walking up to the car as you got out, a grin on her face. She was also dressed in a black dress and heels. You almost matched.

“I see you decided to join me after all.” she said.

You didn't say anything, to busy trying to keep yourself from trembling as you fought to tamp down the fear that ran through you. She took your hand, intertwining her fingers with yours and you both walked into the restaurant, where you were seated swiftly as a circular table covered in a white table cloth.

As you looked around you noticed everyone was dressed up. Women in expensive dresses, men in suits that cost thousands. Ice buckets of champagne and expensive bottles of wine were making their way to the tables around the room. Gabriel had taken you to some nice places but it was obvious that this was on a totally different level. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Charity moved her chair next to yours and sat down. You tensed a bit, taken aback by how close she now was. She took in your expression putting her hand on your thigh, giving it a squeeze.

“Oh don’t be like that. You have nothing to worry about. I’m on my best behavior tonight, I promise.” You looked at her searching her eyes for deceit, once again she was genuine. “Have you looked at the menu yet?” 

You turned from her and opened the menu, everything was in french.

“I can’t read this.”

“Not a problem. What are you in the mood for? Chicken, Veggies, Seafood?”

"I'm not sure." 

You weren't going to be able to eat even if you tried. Your voracious appetite had found its one and only match, fear.

“They have a swordfish that's to die for or so I've been told. Let me order for you, I won’t steer you wrong.”

"Ok." you said, closing your menu.

The waiter came to the table with a bucket of champagne which he opened and poured then took your order. Charity ordered in perfect french and you smiled a bit watching her speak to the waiter. She looked at you when she was finished.

“That's...impressive.” you said.

“I know five other languages, which comes in handy working for an international outfit like Overwatch. How about you?”

“I know English and Gabriel’s teaching me Spanish little by little.” 

She smiled looking at you taking you in. She reached up and tucked your hair behind your ear, which made you jump, but she didn't seem to register it.

“You really are very pretty Y/N.” 

She leaned in and pecked your lips and you swiftly pulled back from her, eyes wide caught off guard. Once again she didn't register the obvious cues that what she was doing startled and frankly scared you and she leaned in and kissed you a second time, pressing her lips to yours a little longer this time. Internally you were freaking out, but you pushed it aside as best you could and kissed her back a little right before she pulled away. When she did she smiled at you. You looked at her giving her the tiniest of smiles back.

"You want to know what drew me to you? Its that I really think we're kindred spirits Y/N."

"What?" 

"At first I thought, no, she's too sweet, too...innocent, I guess. But when I looked in your eyes as you were on top of me depriving me of oxygen, each breath you took like a breath you were stealing from me, like we were connected, like we were one, that's when I saw it. That small glimmer of depravity, a little sign that your moral compass didn't fully tilt due North. That's what prompted me to look into your background and it confirmed it for me. Someone who's been through what you've been through, you don't walk away from something like that with your sense of right and wrong completely in tact."

"Speaking of my background. You said you had information about my mother." she smiled.

"Look at you eager to get to the good part. Can we have dinner before we get to dessert?" You looked at her and she touched your cheek, once again you jumped and she didn't notice. "All things in good time, dear."

"Mmm mmm" The maitre'd cleared his throat as he stood in front of your table. "Excuse me ladies." You both looked at him. "It's been requested that you cease your...displays of affection. This is a high class establishment."

“Excuse me?” said Charity.

“Otherwise we’ll have to ask you to leave.” 

Charity jumped up.

“Do you know who I am? Why I’ve never been more insulted in my life. You’ll be hearing from my father. Get up Y/N, we’re leaving.” 

You stood slowly, looking around the room at all the eyes watching the scene.

“And we’re taking this with us.” Charity grabbed the bottle of champagne by its neck.

“Ma’am you can’t take the champagne outside the restaurant and what’s more, you haven’t paid for it yet.” 

“Watch me.” Charity grasped your hand and looked at you, “Run.” 

You didn't register what she had said until she had turned and took off pulling you behind her. One of her hands gripping yours tight, the other gripping the opened bottle of champagne.

“MA’AM! STOP HER!” yelled the maitre'd.

You and Charity kept running making your way to the restaurant lobby as waiters chased after you. As you left a waiter passed with champagne in a bucket of ice. Charity threw the opened bottle in her hand behind her and grabbed the unopened bottle out of the bucket as she continued to pull you along. When you got outside, the town car was parked out front idling as the driver waited for you two to finish eating. 

“Get in, get in!” Charity shouted. You swung the door open and swiftly climbed in as she got in behind you and slammed the door.

“Drive! Drive!” She shouted to the driver. The town car took off as the group of waiters had just gotten outside. You both looked out the back window as they became smaller and smaller in the distance. You looked at each other, then she burst into laughter and you stared at her, like she had lost her mind.

Jesse made his way to Gabriel’s office. Even though Gabriel was focused on the report he was reading, he was aware of Jesse coming in and taking a seat. He came to a stopping point then looked up.

“What do you want McCree?”

“I just came to express my admiration. You're a lot more open minded then I had you pegged for.”

“What the hell are you going on about now?”

“I know how jealous you get about Y/N when it comes to other men, but letting her date another woman? That’s pretty progressive of you.”

Gabriel was so confused

“McCree, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you letting Y/N go on a date with that leggy redhead she was talking to the other day.”

“Who? Charity? And what do you mean, date?”

“I guess that's what Y/N called her. She got into some fancy car about fifteen minutes ago looking like sex in heels.”

Gabriel looked at him processing what he said then shot up from his chair.

“Come with me!” he shouted as he rushed from his office.

The town car pulled up in front of a burger place. You and Charity got out and went inside, ignoring stares at how overdressed you both were for the venue. You stood in line looking up at the menu.

“So three burgers and two large fries?” asked Charity leaning over to you.

“Three?”

“I can eat two by myself.” you looked at her incredulously. “What? I’m starving Y/N. I was looking forward to that swordfish.” 

You thought to yourself as your stomach started to grumble, the smell of the burgers and fries making you salivate a bit. Looks like you could eat after all. 

“Better make that four then….and I want chili cheese fries” you said. She smiled at you.

“I love a woman who can eat.” 

“I’m just as hungry as you are.”

Charity ordered and paid and you both stood off to the side waiting for your order to be ready.

“This night has certainly taken a turn for the unexpected.” You nodded.

“Why did you want to take me on a date anyways?” 

“Well, I enjoyed brunch so much I thought I’d spend some more time with you. Just the two of us.” 

"Brunch? When I kicked your ass? That's your idea of enjoyment?" She smiled fondly.

"Well of course I don't mean that part." 

But you could tell that she did.

“Wouldn’t you rather be doing this with Gabriel though?”

“Hmm, I’ve decided to let Gabriel go. He doesn’t want me. I’ve decided to accept that and set my sights elsewhere.” You looked at her realization coming to you.

“Me?” she nodded.

“Charity, I’m in love with Gabriel. He’s the only one I want to be with.” She looked at you tucking your hair behind your ear. 

“At least give me tonight to try to change your mind.” You sighed.

“Charity-”

“Look, what’s the harm? At the least, you waste a few hours and get a free meal out of the deal.” 

“And possibly drugged...and murdered.” She laughed.

"I told you Y/N, I'm on my very best behavior tonight. You really have nothing to worry about." she gave you a charming smile and touched your cheek. 

Your order number was called and you grabbed the greasy bag of food and made your way back to the towncar. Charity gave the driver an address and he began to drive. As he drove Charity opened the take-out bag and began setting your burgers and fries on the middle seat. You each grabbed a burger and unwrapped it before taking a bite. Both of you moaning in satisfaction.

"Oh my God," moaned Charity as she chewed. "This is probably better than anything they have at that overpriced, pretentious, piece of shit restaurant. You nodded in agreement as you reached for some chili cheese fries. As you brought a few to your mouth, chili fell onto your dress. 

“Shit,” you said reaching for a napkin to wipe it off. It left a grease stain.

"We'll put something on that later." said Charity as she popped the cork on the champagne and took a swig out bottle before passing it to you. You hesitated before you took it and she looked at you and smiled. "I might know my way around syringe but I would never dose a drink I was planning to drink myself. I'm not crazy Y/N." 

You rolled your eyes at her before you took the bottle and took a drink before wedging the bottle between yourself and the door so you could continue eating.

“So tell me Y/N, why aren’t you married yet?"

"Haven't found the one I guess."

“Really? I thought Gabriel would be chomping at the bit to make you his wife. I mean he’s clearly in love with you.”

“It's still kind of early for all of that.”

“You’ve talked about it at least?”

“Not yet.”

“Dear God Gabriel, what the hell are you doing?”

“Cut him some slack, I could just as easily bring it up on my end. It's not all on him.” 

“But it should be. He’s the man, he should be taking charge...the same way I’m sure he’s happy to take charge in the bedroom.” She looked at you with a mischievous smile. ”I know, I’ve blathered on about the sex me and Gabriel had. But I’d love to know about your experience with him. You never talk about it.”

“And I never will. That’s between me and Gabriel, Charity.”

“Oh come on. This is girl talk, surely you can divulge something. I’m dying to know where he stacks up for you.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious. Look, you look like a sweet girl, which makes me think maybe you haven’t gotten around as much and that Gabriel is something totally different and new for you. I just want to know if what I’m thinking is right.”

“You’re right. But that’s as much as I’m going to say.”

“Oh my God your no fun Y/N. I want details. What was it like the first time he made you cum? How many times a week does he need to have you to feel satisfied? Is he still obsessed with clitoral stimulation? I’m dying to know.”

“Sorry Charity, I don’t kiss and tell.” She balled up the wrapper from her burger she had just finished.

"Oh boo," she said as she threw it at you.

It was weird, you were actually having a normal conversation with Charity almost like you were talking to a girlfriend, something you didn't think she was even capable of. But you reminded yourself that she was only acting this way for your benefit for tonight and that at any moment she could flip the switch and decide to off you when the opportunity presented itself. You both sat silent continuing to eat your food.

"Since you brought up marriage, I've always wondered what its like being married to an agent, so what's it like?" you asked. Charity held her hand out gesturing for the champagne bottle. You passed it to her and she took a drink before she answered.

“To be honest, I never wanted to be married. It was something that was foisted upon me. I never really wanted to be with Amir. I didn’t love him. I barely even knew him.”

“Then how’d you end up with him?”

“He was at one of the myriad events we have. I got drunk, he helped me to my room, one thing led to another, and boom, we were pregnant. Amir being the morally upstanding guy that he was decided to make an honest woman out of me and I let him. I really didn't have a choice to be honest. Him and my father had fallen in love with each other by then. Ugh it was insufferable how friendly they got with each other. I knew then that there was no way I could back out. So daddy got the son he always wanted and I got a husband I didn’t."

"So how’d that work out? Living with a man you didn’t want?”

“It worked out fine actually. He was always busy with Overwatch which allowed me the room to do whatever I wanted. I’d let him have my body when he was home, played the perfect loving wife, then when he left I’d go on dates and fuck around with my boyfriends and a few girlfriends. Don’t tell Gabriel, but during the beginning of our affair I was seeing him and another agent. But then I cut him off to be with Gabriel exclusively.”

“Did you ever consider divorce?” she sighed taking another drink from the bottle before you reached for it and she passed it to you.

“I did. I even went to see a lawyer to find out what my options were. I made the mistake of going to a friend of my father’s and he told him about it. Daddy was furious, he said if I ever divorced Amir he’d cut me off. He told me he knew about my affairs and said he’d rather have me do what I have to do to keep myself entertained then live through the embarrassment of a divorce in the family. Plus Amir and I didn’t have a prenup. He refused to sign; the bastard and Daddy let him get away with it. If I left him, he’d walk away with half of my trust possibly more if he found out I had been cheating on him. I couldn’t let that happen.” She looked at you and smiled. "Problems of the rich."

The driver pulled up to a warehouse in an industrial area and a chill went down your spine. 

"Why are we here?" you asked.

"I want to show you something. Get out."

"Um, I think I'll stay right here." She looked at you with a grin.

"You still don't trust me." she reached to touch your cheek and you flinched back from her. She shook her head lowering her hand. "We'll work on that. In the meantime I really would like to show you something, something really special to me. I won't hurt you Y/N, I promise."

All you had to go off of was the sincerity in her eyes. You took a deep breath. That had to be enough. You nodded and she smiled and opened the door and got out. You opened your door then you grabbed the empty champagne bottle. You were a fool, but not a complete fool. You got out and walked around the back of the car to meet Charity. You held the bottle down at your side furthest from her and she took your other hand and you both began to walk into the warehouse. 

“I want you to bring up every camera in front of HQ, and show me footage going back to the last 30 minutes.” Gabriel commanded the technician. 

Jack, Jesse and himself were in a command room looking at a large screen. The tech sat at a computer in a row of workstations typing furiously. 

“McCree, say something when the car comes up on the screen.” 

Suddenly the screen filled with several angles of camera footage all from the front of HQ. The three men sat watching, searching.

“There it is, on the bottom, third from the right.” said Jesse. The tech isolated the footage and brought it up so it was the only image on the screen.

“Can we zoom in on the license plate?” asked Jack. The tech started typing, the license plate getting larger and clearer on the screen. “Run a trace on that. Find out what company owns that car.”

The tech started typing. Gabriel looked at Jack, worry on his face, as he held his phone to his ear.

“Why would she go with her? We just had a conversation about this…” He took the phone from his ear, “Why is her phone going straight to voicemail?...God damn it Y/N!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find her.” said Jack

“Got it!” yelled the tech. She brought the information for the limo service up on the screen.

Jack took out his phone and dialed the business number.

“Hello, I need to speak to the supervisor on duty.” There was a pause. “Don, this is Jack Morrison, Strike Commander for Overwatch. We need to locate one of your vehicles.”


	12. Chapter 12

Charity continued to hold your hand as you walked down a white hall. The floors were white tile, the walls were white, the drop ceiling was white and it was all lit up with bright florescent lighting. You did your best to control your breathing, trying to breath slowly as you heart raced and you gripped the champagne bottle tightly, like it was a lifeline. Eventually you came to a white steel door. There was a pinpad and a biometric scanner on the side of the door. Charity put in a code then bent down to scan her eye. You heard the door unlock and she pushed it open taking your hand again as you walked through it. 

When you got on the other side, motion activated florescent lights started to come on as you walked into a large room. There were several laboratory workbenches arranged in the middle of the room and along the walls. The benches along the walls had shelving installed above it and shelves were bare. In the far corner of the room were several chairs covered in plastic and in the other corner were boxes and boxes of laboratory equipment. You realized where Charity had brought you. This was the lab Dr. Courtland had been worried about and his worries you now saw were well founded. 

"So what do you think?" asked Charity.

"What is all this?" you asked feigning ignorance.

"This is my life's work."

"I thought being a lawyer was your life's work?"

"Well it fulfills certain needs for me, but this...this lab, facilitating the work that's going to be done here, this is what I'm passionate about."

"And what kind of work will be done here?" 

"Why developing the most cutting edge pharmaceuticals of course. This might not be on par with the labs in my father's company but its my ambition that what we do here rivals whats done over there."

"Hmm, dads got some competition then."

"Well, he doesn't think I have the mind for this kind of stuff anyways. I'm hoping to take him by surprise."

"So what kind of pharmaceuticals will you specialize in?"

"I'm trusting you to keep a secret Y/N, but a lot of what I'd like to do is pretty experimental, and lets be honest, illegal."

"So...stuff like the MDMA you drugged me with?"

"That and other things. To be honest, that MDMA was developed in one of my previous labs."

"Oh, so you have multiple labs?"

"One other lab, but it met an....explosive end."

"Hmm." 

"Follow me." 

She grabbed your hand and led you to a door at the back of the room which led to an office with a large picture window that looked out onto lab. There was a black leather L-shaped couch against the wall and she led you to sit down on it. She looked at you, still clutching the champagne bottle tightly and giggled a bit.

"You don't trust easily do you Y/N?"

"No, not really." 

"I guess considering the things Gabriel has probably told you about me, I wouldn't trust me either."

"He told me what you did to Mina." she sighed.

"He's never gonna let that go. I mean its not like she died, though it wasn't from lack of trying on my part. When the police found her I was sort of in the middle of injecting her with enough cocaine to finish her off, I barely got out of there by the skin of teeth, lucky for me I move fast." she laughed.

Her flippant attitude jarred you, like injecting someone with enough cocaine to almost kill them was just an everyday activity, no big deal. 

"Why would you do something like that."

"I'll admit it was overkill, but I didn't know that her and Gabriel weren't anything serious. In my mind she was in the way. I just removed an obstacle and she served another purpose that was beneficial to me, although if she had died it would have been a lot more helpful."

"What is your beef with Gabriel anyways? Why do torment him the way that you do?" She sighed and grabbed your hand and started stroking it with her thumb.

"Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel, beautiful Gabriel. I think it was inevitable that I fell in love with him. He’s a force of nature. Sheer dominating power. I had never been fucked that way in my entire life. It was like he knocked something loose inside me. Something years of being married to a man I didn’t love and having to pretend had repressed." She paused, then smiled at you. "I know I tried to make it seem like me and Gabriel had something similar to what you and him have, but to be honest, it was just sex. Passionate and life altering, but sex nonetheless. We didn’t go on dates, we didn’t spend the night with each other, we didn’t cuddle or any of that. We met up, we fucked, and we went home. I knew he never loved me, knew he was just high on the vapors of the thrill of being with a married woman, but I loved to pretend. When he kicked me back to reality, it pissed me off. How dare he not love me, but even worse how dare he make me face the reality of that fact. He popped my bubble of bliss out of loyalty to Amir and it made me angry, because once again Amir had a say over how my life was supposed to go.” She looked down thoughtfully. 

"I guess at first everything I did to him, the lies, fucking with Mina, was revenge for him not loving me, but even after Amir died, he still refused to have anything to do with me. I saw Gabriel as my savior. He rescued me from a lifetime of unhappiness with Amir, but he refused to fill the void that had now been created and then he had the nerve to try to move on with someone else. I thought why should he get to be happy without me? Does that sound fair to you?"

You shrugged not really sure how to respond. There was a long silence. Charity was still holding your hand but she had stopped stroking it. 

"You said Mina served another purpose, what purpose was that?"

"My my Y/N, we're very inquisitive tonight."

"I...I guess I'm just trying to gauge what it is you're truly capable of." Charity smiled.

"My previous lab met an explosive demise. Obviously something like that doesn't go unnoticed and what we were doing there wasn't exactly on the up and up. I needed a fall guy, so I led the police to Mina. If she had died like I had planned for her to that would have been the end of it. But she didn't so they're still looking for the brains behind the operation. They're not looking at me though so I guess it worked out after all."

You went silent. 

"Why are you sharing all this with me? Answering my questions?" She looked at you.

"As I said before, I believe we're the same deep down. I think you get my motivations for the things I've done. Plus, no good relationship should start with lies. I want you to trust me Y/N, so I'm willing to be candid in order to earn your trust. Anyways, its not like anyone you told would ever believe you. Not about little old me. So I guess my secrets are safe."

You were shocked by her answer, but did your best not to let it show on your face.

"Did you blow up your lab?"

"Not me personally, but I set the wheels in motion, got in contact with the right people and they handled it for me." She sighed and stood. "I'm quite bored of being here now, lets head back to my place." She held her hand out to you and you looked at her for a second before you took it and stood up. The two of you made your way out of the lab and back to the car and the driver pulled off.

The supervisor on duty at the limo service had gotten in contact with the driver who provided the address for the warehouse, where he was currently waiting for you and Charity. He confirmed that the both of you had gone in alive. Jack and Gabriel armed themselves then got into a car and began to make the hour and a half long journey to the address they had been given.

Gabriel had a stricken look on his face as he sat on the passengers side deep in thought. Jack glanced at him.

"Hey, she's gonna be ok. Y/N's a pretty smart girl and you're always taking about how good she can fight. I'm sure she can handle herself if she has to." said Jack trying to reassure him.

Gabriel remained silent for a moment. Then sighed.

"I should have sent her away sooner....I shouldn't have gotten involved with her with all of this hanging over me. I've may damn well have gotten this girl killed."

"Don't start doing that. Don't start blaming yourself." Gabriel let out another sigh.

"I just hope whatever feelings Charity claims to have for Y/N garner her some favor."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently Charity has moved on from me to Y/N."

"Get outta here. When did this come about?"

"Don't tell Y/N I told you this, but that night she slipped her MDMA she…she...fingerbanged her in the bathroom." Jack's eyes went wide and he glanced at him.

"What?!" Gabriel nodded. "How does that make you feel?"

"Mad as hell, Jack. She took advantage of her, plus I'm not one of these men that gets off on seeing their girlfriend fuck another woman. I refuse to share her with anybody."

"I mean...you kind of took advantage of her too."

"That's different."

"How? You both fucked her while she was under the influence of that shit. She would've said yes to anything."

"In my defense she did the convincing, not me."

"That's not a defense. You were sober, you were supposed to be protecting her from herself." Gabriel sighed rolling his eyes.

"I'm just as bad as Charity, I'm a bad bad man, are you happy now Golden boy?!" 

"Just peachy," answered Jack with a grin.

"At least I love her. I did what I did with love."

"Well I guess Charity loves her too now." There was a pause, "Her vagina can't be that magical, you guys are just weird."

"Magical doesn't even begin to cover it."

"I think that's all that serotonin talking. You love her so everything's more intense for you, more significant."

"You think so?...Was it like that for you and Vincent?" Jack nodded his mood shifting a bit.

"Hmm," replied Gabriel thoughtfully.

It went silent for a while, and Gabriel realized he had hit tender spot for Jack. 

"Hey look man, I didn't mean to bring that up. I know it's still a sore subject for you," said Gabriel.

"It's fine. Gotta get over it sooner or later. Oddly enough, watching you and Y/N kinda helps. I guess I'm using you to test my theory on whether a relationship with a civilian will work. If you two can make it then maybe I was wrong.......I hope you make it."

Gabriel looked at Jack with a half smile. Jack kept his eyes on the road.

"I guess that hinges on what state we find her in tonight," said Gabriel.

Both men went silent again and remained that way for the rest of the car ride. 

When Jack made it to the industrial area and pulled up in front of the warehouse, the towncar was gone. Gabriel's stomach dropped immediately. There was only one reason why Charity would bring you to place like this. Jack reached for the door handle about to get out.

"I....I can't do this," said Gabriel.

Jack put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed. 

"She could just be injured, either way, we have to at least check. This is a big warehouse from the looks of it. I can't do it on my own."

"I don't want to see her like that Jack. You might as well lock me up now, because if Charity.....I'll kill her Jack. I mean that with every fiber of my being. I won't rest until I put bullet in that woman's head." Jack nodded slowly.

Suddenly Jack's phone chimed. He picked it up. He had a text. 

"Looks like we won't have to go in there after all. The driver just sent me their last stop." 

Gabriel closed his eyes and took a relieved breath. Jack pat his shoulder reassuringly. He started the car back up and drove off.

The car dropped you both off at a high-rise building and you followed Charity inside. You took the elevator to the floor just below the penthouse level and Charity led you to a large apartment that was luxuriously decorated.

“Holy shit” you said as you looked around making your way into a large living room with an expensive looking white sectional flanked by two wooden side tables with a crystal lamp on each one. The couch sat in front of a large fireplace, a white shag sitting on the floor in between. 

“Corporate housing.” said Charity. “Overwatch treats those us on the business side of things very well.”

You thought about the two bedroom condo you shared with Jack and Gabriel. It could fit inside the living room alone. You couldn’t help feeling a little miffed. You could see why Gabriel was pissed with the Overwatch bureaucracy. Look at how they lived on Overwatch’s dime and they weren’t even the ones putting their lives on the line day in and day out. It wasn’t fair. It was downright disgusting. 

You came into the living room and made to sit down on the couch before Charity stopped you. 

"Wait wait wait. We need to get something on that grease stain."

She grabbed your shoulders and turned you around, grabbing the zipper of your dress. You tried to turn back to stop her, but she grabbed your shoulders turning you back around unzipping your dress.

“Calm down. I’ll take mine off too so you won’t be alone."

She pushed your straps off your shoulders and the dress fell off you to the ground pooling at your feet, exposing the lingerie you had put on underneath. Charity smiled and slapped your ass, hard. You swiftly turned around stepping out of the dress, irritation on your face.

“I didn’t think you were going to put it on.” she said. She unzipped her dress at the side pushing the straps off revealing matching lingerie as it fell to the ground. Your eyes went wide with surprise. She grinned. “I think you look better in it then I do. Especially these.” 

She began to reach for your breast and you slapped her hand away making her laugh. She grabbed your hand pressing it to her breast over her bra and closed her hand around yours so you squeezed it. Your eyes went wide.

"Mine are implants," she said. "But looking at yours..." she took her other hand and grabbed your breast, "I kind of wish I had kept mine natural. Your's are so cute, proportional to your body." She squeezed your breast a couple times before letting you go, then she bent down and picked up your dress off the floor. 

"I'll be right back."

As she left you sat back down on the couch, crossing your arms over yourself, holding yourself somewhat. When she came back, she laid your dress over the back of the couch and came around to sit next to you. She sat for a moment before leaning forward to kiss you. You moved back and she smiled, grabbing your chin to pull your lips to hers as she pressed hers to yours, before pulling back slowly and looking at you,

"I know I said I want to earn your trust, but its taking way too long for you to warm up to me. Lighten up Y/N. Don't be so uptight."

Easier said than done sitting in the presence of a killer.

"Can I ask you something?" you asked. She started rubbing your knee and you fought the urge to slap he hand. "How exactly did Amir find out about your affair with Gabriel?" Charity smiled.

"Breadcrumbs my dear."

"Breadcrumbs?"

"During the affair I had been extra careful, which is how it went on so long without Amir suspecting anything. Then Gabriel broke it off and I felt like maybe it was time Amir found out the truth. So I carried on as if the affair was still on but in the sloppiest way possible. I'd go to a hotel during the day, get a few spa treatments, take a nap, order room service for two, then leave the hotel bill somewhere I'd knew he'd find it. I'd stay out late. Usually I was at a bar having a drink and catching up with a good book until one or two in the morning.Then I'd come home loudly to make sure he was awake when he saw me go directly to the shower as soon as I got in the room. I'd have a service call my phone at odd hours of the night, again waking him up, then I'd get up and leave the room pretending I was on a call I didn't want him to hear. Breadcrumbs. I left enough of them that I knew the exact moment he started to suspect, started to put two and two together that I was "cheating.""

She giggled.

"Poor Amir, he really was quite devoted to me....like a puppy dog," She giggled again. "But deep down I think he knew I wasn't happy which is why I was certain that my betrayal was something he could easily get over, but Gabriel's? Well that would damn near destroy him and by this point I was over both of them so I decided, what the hell, lets destroy them both."

Her cool tone sent a chill up your spine

"What did you do?" you asked quietly. She reached out and grabbed some of your hair and started twirling it around her fingers. You looked in her eyes and they were far away like she was remembering something, a slow self-satisfied smile came to her face and she refocused her eyes on yours.

"Gabriel had this pendant his mother gave him and I knew Amir knew about it. I got someone to let me into Gabriel's room through...unconventional means and I stole the pendant. By this time I knew Amir suspected me of cheating he just didn't know with who." She took a deep breath still twirling your hair. "Amir and I kept our marriage secret from Overwatch, a majority of people never knew we were married until after he died. It was easier that way. One day they were coming back from a mission and I did something I had never done, I went to greet Amir in the hanger. Gabriel got off the ship first and he gave me a look and I returned it. I knew Amir had seen this and when I went to hug him I knew the wheels in his head were already turning." 

She paused, smiling, her eyes still on yours her slow cadence lulling you into something like a trance as her words painted a picture for you in your mind. 

"We went home and I made sure that pendant was on my vanity somewhere I knew Amir would see it. I acted like I had left the room but I stood at the door and watched him find it, watched him turn it over in his hand, watched him read the engraving on the back, watched the different emotions come across his face as he connected the dots. Then I snuck up behind him and stuck the syringe in his neck."

You inhaled sharply and she looked at you and stroked your cheek making you jump, pulling you back into the room with her. She continued.

"At the time we were working on a drug that left its users susceptible to suggestion. It was still in the experimental phase but I figured what better way to test it then on a live subject. I helped Amir put on his jacket, all the while talking about how wrong it was for Gabriel to have done this to him, to have betrayed him this way. I told him he should go to his room and confront him. Drove home the point that maybe Amir was the one that is was in the way. His wife was unhappy, his friend really wasn't one, maybe it was for the best if he disappeared. I told him that after he confronted Gabriel he should kill himself, then I put the gun in his hand, and the pendant in his pocket and sent him on his way."

You couldn't believe what you had just heard but what shocked you more was the pride in her voice, her self-congratulatory tone, as if this was one of her biggest accomplishments. Her confession made your blood run cold. There was a short silence as you looked at her.

"Are you cold sweetie?" 

"Huh?" 

You hadn't realized that you had started shaking.

"Lets go sit by the fireplace." Charity got up pulling you up with her and you went to sit down on the shag carpet while she flipped the switch for the gas fireplace making it spring to life. You felt it's warmth instantly, but you kept shaking. Charity was a monster. Why were you here right now? You instantly regretted getting into that car. You said a silent prayer. If you got out of there alive you'd never break a promise to Gabriel again. You'd let him keep you safe like he had tried to do.

Charity sat down in front of you, sitting cross-legged like you were now. She reached across which made you flinch and put her hands on your thighs stroking downward over your garter belt to your knee where it connected with your thigh high stockings, then running her hands back up to complete the circuit again. You guessed she was trying to warm you up. 

"Y/N I want you to leave Gabriel to be with me." You looked at her. “I can give you so much more than he can. I can give you the best of everything. The most fabulous trips, the best food, the most exclusive events and parties, the latest fashions. Your skin should be adorned in the best fabrics, silks and lace in every color. Your body should be designed for and you should have all best accessories, diamonds and designer bags. I can give you that. I know you love to dance, we could get you a studio of your own. Something that rivals what you have at Overwatch. Build it from the ground up to your specifications. But more importantly I can be with you on demand whenever you want. Not like that workaholic Gabriel, whose first love will always be Overwatch. Always leaving you alone, always putting you last. With me you'd be first in everything and there never has to be a moment where you feel lonely.” 

She leaned forward coming up on her knees and kissed your mouth, placing her hand on your cheek, stroking it with her thumb.

"We could be kingpins, rule the black market drug trade and put my father out of business at the same time." She was still stroking your cheek and when she said this she pinched it, hard, making you wince, before pressing her lips to yours again. "We'd have so much power and everyone would fear us." She said low against your mouth, "and we'd crush our enemy's like ants under the heel of a shoe." She kissed you again as she reached between your legs and into your panties and began to rub your clit you inhaled sharply about to move to get her off of you. "Don't push me away." She whispered and you stilled, trying to fight the whimper that came to your lips. 

"Stop Charity," you whispered. 

"Just imagine with me. Imagine how good it'll feel to be feared and worshiped and respected but not for who your boyfriend is but because they know you could take their head off at any second, kill those who oppose you without hesitation." She rubbed faster and you started to pant. "How good would it feel to never have to be a victim again?" 

She crawled forward placing her other hand on your shoulder making you lay back on the floor as she knelt over you, still rubbing between your legs. She grabbed your hand and moved it into her own panties, your fingers on her center. You held it there doing nothing, but looking at her, trying to fight against the pleasure she was giving you, trying to stay sane. 

"Rub me Y/N." she breathed. You remained still. She sat back on her knees a little, put her hand on your neck and squeezed, your eyes went wide with panic. "Rub me," she said louder. You started to rub her clit and she released her grip.

She remained on top of you and kept her hand on your neck as you quickly rubbed at each other, you moans and pants filling the room as your rocked your hips into each others hands. Occasionally, Charity would lean down and kiss your mouth and your cheek before sitting back up to look in your eyes as you pleasured each other.

Eventually, both of you were on the cusp of your respective orgasms and you were lost in feeling, your focus now on chasing after your release. Charity laid against you placing her cheek to yours, gripping your hair tight, pulling your head back before you both tipped over the edge shouting your moans, shaking and rocking your hips together as your hands rubbed at each other furiously. Eventually you stopped your rubbing and pulled each other into an embrace as your breathing began to calm. Charity pressed her lips to yours and you began to kiss each other deeply, humming and moaning into each other's mouths, hands on each other's faces. You both rolled on your sides still kissing before you pulled apart looking at each other.

“You're so beautiful. I never thought I could have you like this without you being under the influence first.” she said stroking your face, her words pulling you back to reality.

“Why did you do that Charity? Why did you drug me?”

"The MDMA was just a message to Gabriel after he pissed me off. But the syringe of cocaine, I thought I could drug you into loving me. I did as much with Mina...I seduced her that's how I got her to come with me. Then I'd come to that room and get her high and we'd fuck each others brains out like we were lovers on the run from the law. She wanted me so badly, she'd do anything for me and I thought about how you were exactly the same. Thought about how badly you wanted me to make you cum in that bathroom, which is why I planned to do the same with you. I had a syringe waiting for you in the couch cushion, but now that your here with me like this, I don't think I have go through with that anymore."

You looked at her hoping the fear that ran through you renewed wasn't detectable in your eyes, but you could see she was struggling to keep hers opened and she put her hands under her head getting settled on the floor.

"What about my mother?"

"There's an envelope in the kitchen. We'll go over it over breakfast." she said sleepily before she closed her eyes and drifted off.

You laid there with Charity for several minutes confirming that she was asleep. You slowly sat up and removed your heels then stood. You tip-toed to the couch and grabbed your dress quickly putting it on. You grabbed your clutch bag and your shoes and quietly made your way to the kitchen. There was a manila envelope on the island with your name on it. You grabbed it and made your way to the door closing it softly behind you as you left.

You ran to the elevator pushing the button several times before the doors opened and you got on, replacing your shoes. You pulled your phone out of your bag and turned your data back on. A flood of texts and missed call and voicemail alerts hit your phone, but you couldn't worry about that right now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short. Giving ya'll time to digest because this is about to go somewhat left.

When you got off the elevator and walked to the front of the lobby you saw Gabriel and Jack come in, armed to the teeth. 

“Gabriel,” you called. His eyes followed where your voice was coming from and when he saw you he went rushing to you pulling you into his arms as he exhaled relieved . He held you for a long time. “What are you doing here?...Dressed for battle?” you asked.

He pulled you back.

“What are you doing here? What are you doing coming to see her!?” his anger started to grow. “We agreed you weren't going to go anywhere with her! You get into a fucking car, go on a date with her and say nothing! What if something had happened to you!?.”

You were over the lecture. You just wanted to get the fuck out of there and he was going on and on. You grabbed his hand and put your phone into it. He looked at you confused.

“That’s everything you need to take her down.”

“What?”

You needed air. You felt like you couldn't breathe. You walked past him, walked past Jack, and went outside. You understood he was just worried about you but after everything you had just done and heard you weren't in the mood for his worry or the lectures that accompanied it. After everything Charity had told you, after fucking her and kissing her, trying to mask your fear in front of her, you felt dirty and exhausted. You just wanted to go home, shower, and curl up in your bed.

The ride home was silent. Gabriel just kept looking at you. The silence continued when you got home and removed your dress. Gabriel eyed the lingerie and spoke.

"You wore that for her?"

"She asked me to."

"Since when are you suddenly in the habit of doing what she wants?"

"Aren't we all Gabriel? You're so afraid of her you're sending me away. We're all marching to the beat of her drum trying to appease her so she won't hurt any of us. That ends tonight."

"What's on your phone?"

"Proof, enough to clear your name. Enough to get her locked up or at the least, fired."

"I thought we talked about this Y/N?"

"No, you talked."

"And you agreed."

"Well I lied. I couldn't sit back and do nothing."

"Is that what you think I've been doing?"

"No..Gabriel.” You sighed. “What I said isn't a judgement of you or the choices you've made regarding Charity. I'm just saying, for me, I had to do something different."

"Something reckless and dangerous. Who gave you permission to put your life on the line like that?"

"I don't need permission"

"If you did this for me like you claim, you damn well need my fucking permission." 

He grabbed your arms pulling you between his legs as he sat on the bed, his grip almost bruising.

"You don't ever sacrifice yourself for me! Do you understand me?!"

"Let go Gabriel you're hurting me." you said trying to pull away. He snatched you back to him.

"Tell me you understand then. Tell me you know that I will hunt you down in the afterlife to express my displeasure at you for all eternity if you ever lay your life down for me."

You looked at him.

"In all scenarios, you are to survive. Do you hear me? There's no world, no plane of existence where I'm here and you're not. Where I survive and you don't. It doesn't fucking exist Y/N, not now, not ever. Tell me you understand that!...Tell me!"

"I understand." you said.

He pulled you to him in a tight embrace, stroking your hair. 

"I was ready to move heaven and earth to bring you back to me. You scared me so bad, Y/N. It literally knocked the wind out of me when Jesse told me you had run off with her. I still haven't caught my breath." You tried to pull away, his hold on you uncomfortable. "Damn it! Would just let me hold you!?"

You stilled letting him hold you, letting him take whatever comfort he needed by squeezing you so tight. His embrace was almost crushing like he might snap you in two, or four, or five. Despite the discomfort you let him keep holding you realizing that you needed it to. 

Being with Charity, listening to her, had shaken you. Her flippancy, her callousness at taking other people's lives, the cold and calculating ways in which she had manipulated the people around her, the same way in which she craved to manipulate and control you. It disturbed you to your core, like you had looked upon pure evil and lived to tell the tale. Like you had been courted by Satan himself. You needed Gabriel's arms, his warmth, the crushing pressure of his embrace to hold you together so you didn't crack into pieces from the sheer insanity of it all.

That night Gabriel refused to leave your side and you were relieved you didn't have to ask. He showered with you, got dressed with you, and went to bed with you where you clung to each other. Neither of you aware of the tears the other was holding back at how grateful you were to be safe again in each other's arms.


	14. Chapter 14

A few days later, Gabriel sat in a room of him, Jack, investigators from Overwatch, and detectives from the local police listening to your recording. Listening to Charity officially exonerate him for the death of Amir. Listening to her admit to other crimes. Then the moaning started. They looked round the room at each other listening to you and Charity fuck each other. Gabriel put his head in his hands looking down at the table. Soon your moans became unbearable. He was the only one in the room who could distinguish whose moans belonged to who.

"Can we skip past this?" he said, a pained look on his face.

"She might say something else," said one of the investigators.

He shot up from the chair and left the room. Shortly after he left, Jack came out to find Gabriel pacing back and forth in the hall.

"How could she do that?" asked Gabriel, not making eye contact with Jack.

"She was trying to help you."

"How does that help me? How does her fucking Charity help me?

"Think about how terrified she must have been."

"Then she should have left, not put her face or whatever in Charity's crotch. Look Jack, I know you love her, you want to believe she had the best intentions in mind. But do me a favor, keep your optimism and excuses for her behavior to yourself. She had a fucking choice. She had a series of choices and in each one she never chose me. She never thought of me. That's the bottom fucking line."

"So now what? What stupid thing are you about to do now?"

"Now I pack up all her shit and she gets the fuck out of my life."

"You don't mean that."

He meant it and when you got home your luggage was neatly stacked in the living room. Gabriel was in the bathroom putting your things into a toiletry bag. 

"What is this? What are you doing? Why is all my stuff out in the living room?"

"I packed up as much as I could, I'll bring you the rest later." He didn't look at you, he was still stuffing things into the bag.

"What are you talking about? Gabriel..stop." He picked up your facial mask and you grabbed it from him. He went to take it back from you but you moved it out of range. "Stop. Would you talk to me, please?" 

He stopped. Looking at you.

"I told you I wouldn’t share you with anyone, that I wouldn't put up with cheating."

"I didn't cheat on you. I did what I had to do to get to the truth, to set you free, to set us both free."

"I told you to leave it alone...You went too fucking far Y/N and now there's no coming back from it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you and I are done. You wanna be an amateur detective, prostitute yourself for a case, be my guest. But not while you're with me, not while I call you mine."

He got this look in his eye and set the bag down coming toward you. You backed into the wall by the bathroom door. He put his hand on your neck and your eyes went wide with fear but he didn't squeeze. He pushed his body to yours using his other hand to roam, gripping and grabbing your parts as he spoke. Needing to feel you one last time.

"Have you any idea what its like to sit in a room full of men and have to listen to the woman you love fuck someone else? Listen to you moan for her the way I thought only I could make you moan. Listen to her talk about all the things she could give you, things I would kill for you to have but can't provide. Not once. Not once did you tell her you were happy with our life, that you were satisfied with what I provide you."

He caressed your breasts pinching the nipple over your shirt and bra. You kept your hands at your side, letting him feel you up.

"I wanted to get out of there alive Gabriel. You heard her, she's crazy. How do you think she would have reacted to that?"

He moved his hand around to your ass gripping your cheeks.

"Get out of there alive? You shouldn't have been there in the first place."

He reached down your front, hand between your legs squeezing your core. Beginning to rub his hand back and forth as he squeezed. 

“Mmmm” he hummed maneuvering his hand inside the front of your leggings and into your panties continuing to rub.

You gasped, reaching up to place your hand on the back of his head.

"She threatened Jack," you whispered.

He pulled back looking at you, removing his hand.

"Jack's a big boy. He can take care of himself. He didn't need you to fuck her for him. No one did. That's something you decided to do on your own and for that I need you to leave." 

He released your neck, picked the bag up from the sink, and walked out the bathroom. You followed him and wrapped your arms around his waist pressing yourself to his back. He stopped.

"Please Gabriel. Try to understand. I did this for you. I was only ever thinking of you."

"Bullshit! If you were thinking of me you would have kept your promise not to go with her. You never would've gotten in that car".

He pushed your arms off him and kept moving toward the bedroom door.

You ran back to him wrapping your arms around him again.

"I love you Gabriel, please!" 

"Get off me Y/N."

"No" he grabbed your arms again but this time he turned around and shoved you backward onto the bed.

"I said get off me!" 

He walked out the bedroom to the luggage putting the toiletry bag into one of your suitcases. He picked up two of your bags and made his way outside to put them in the car.

You laid where he had shoved you on the bed tears streaming from your eyes. You heard shouting at the front door, then it opened. You sat up and walked out to the living room.

"...at least give yourself time to think about this, Gabriel. You're being impulsive," said Jack, coming in behind Gabriel.

"I've made up my mind. There's nothing else to think about," said Gabriel, grabbing the rest of your bags. Jack was blocking his way out the door. "Move."

"Don't do this to her Gabriel."

"Do this to her?! What about what she did to me!? Get the fuck outta my way Jack!"

Jack reluctantly moved as Gabriel pushed past him. He saw you standing there and went to you pulling you into his arms.

"I'm sorry Y/N. His pride is hurt right now. Just give him some time." 

He rubbed your back while you sobbed into his chest. Suddenly Gabriel was tugging your arm yanking you from Jack.

"Let's go!" He shouted.

Jack grabbed his wrist, anger in his eyes.

"Just wait a fucking minute. I don't care how mad you are. You don't treat her like that."

"You're upset because I treat a whore like a whore."

Your eyes went wide and you slapped him. He looked at you venom in his eyes.

"You want her to stay here, fine, but I refuse to be in the vicinity of this deceitful, lying, little bitc-,"

Jack slapped his hand to Gabriel’s chest bunching his hoodie in his fist, getting in his face. 

"You better watch yourself Gabriel, I mean it." He started pushing him backwards toward the door. He opened it and shoved Gabriel outside. "Go find some place to cool the fuck off." He slammed the door closed and you crumpled to the floor.

Jack scooped you up and carried you to his room, laying with you in his bed, holding you to him, rubbing your back as you sobbed yourself to sleep.

Hours later you got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. The front door opened and Gabriel came in closing the door behind himself. You looked at each other for a moment. Then he made his way to the bedroom and closed the door.

You crouched to the ground putting your hand to your mouth to muffle the sound of your sobs.

The next day you were walking down the hall at Overwatch. Gabriel was walking in the opposite direction and just as you passed each other there was commotion coming down the hall. You both stopped to see what it was.

Suddenly you saw a group of police officers escorting Charity down the hall, her hands behind her in cuffs. You backed up to make room for them to come through. Charity saw you and lunged toward you. Gabriel moved to stand in front of you arm out holding you back behind him protectively.

"They said you did this, but I don't believe them Y/N! You love me, I know you do! I love you too! Wait for me Y/N wait for me!" She shouted as she passed, the officers pushing her along as you and Gabriel turned to watch until they turned the corner at the end of the hall. 

You hadn't realized you had grabbed onto Gabriel when he had pushed you behind him and you were now gripping his arm and waist peeking around him as you watched Charity being escorted out. When it got quiet again you finally noticed your hands on him and let him go. 

"Sorry" you said. He turned to you.

"You ok?" You nodded. 

He began to reach up to caress your cheek and you closed your eyes in anticipation of his touch. Several seconds went by and nothing happened. You opened your eyes to find that he had turned from you and had continued walking down the hall.


	15. Chapter 15

Charity was fired from Overwatch and faced a myriad of criminal charges for the things she had done including drugging you and attempting to drug you a second time. After learning the details of Amir's death, Charity's father withdrew all financial support and word was her legal defense was starting to become a drain on the funds she managed to hold onto after her bank accounts had been seized. 

Soon the press had gotten wind of what Charity had done and that she was an Overwatch employee, but the Overwatch Bureaucracy had already been preparing to spin this into a positive. They let local law enforcement take point on handling the case in order to show they were willing to be transparent and cooperative and to show that no one, even a member of Overwatch was above the law. They came up with a handful of carefully crafted talking points, which they drilled into Jack before sending him off on a mini press tour which went a long way toward quelling negative feelings toward Overwatch and got the press off their literal doorstep. 

The first several weeks after she was arrested you spent a lot of your time speaking with local law enforcement, helping them to corroborate statements Charity had made in your recording. You got them in contact with Dr. Courtland who helped fill in a lot of gaps regarding the labs and the drugs she had been selling on the black market. Apparently, a task force had been created to get Charity's drugs off the street and they hadn't been having much success until you and Dr. Courtland came into the picture. 

With all that was going on you barely had time to think about you and Gabriel, but eventually things quieted down as you all awaited Charity's trial and that's when reality started to set in for you. At no point when you had initially set out to do all of this did you ever envision that you and Gabriel would no longer be together, that you wouldn't be speaking to each other, that you'd no longer be living in the place Gabriel had said was your home. He'd been right. Taking Charity down didn't end up all rainbows and sunshine, you just never fathomed that it wouldn't be rainbows and sunshine for you.

You went about your normal routine at Overwatch, keeping busy, which kept your mind off everything during the day. With Jack busy with the press tour and no one to really talk to who could relate to what you were going through, you found you bottled up a lot of your emotions about the entire situation and when Jack did return wanting to talk, wanting you to unburden you found you couldn't. There was a sort of numbness that settled within you that you gave yourself over to and you found it made getting through the days slightly easier, especially when it came to Gabriel. You'd see him around, but he carried on as if he wasn't aware of your existence, which stung but you did a good job of covering it up, pretending like it didn't break your heart that his feelings had turned so rapidly against you. 

Nights were especially rough. You had nightmares about Charity and would wake up screaming in a cold sweat, looking for Gabriel's warmth to comfort you and then you'd realize he wasn't there. He wasn't ever going to be there. All you could do was cling to George and wish the ache you had for Gabriel deep in the pit of your stomach would go away. 

Jack tried to intercede on your behalf but anytime he brought you up to Gabriel he would immediately shut the conversation down.

"You're just determined to be stubborn old fool aren't you," Jack would say in frustration.

"Just mind your fucking business Jack," Gabriel would usually reply in turn.

A month went by and you started to resign yourself to the fact that this was how things were going to be. In some ways it angered you. You had put everything on the line for Gabriel and he couldn't look far enough past his own nose to see that, and yet, you still loved him beyond reason. Why else would you have done any of this in first place? The only comfort you took from any of this was that at least he didn't have to worry about Charity anymore, none of you did. That had been your end goal from the start. As much as he wanted you to be happy, you wanted the same for him even if it hurt you, even if he didn't want anything to do with you anymore. But sometimes he did little things that made you think maybe he still cared for you, but you didn't allow yourself to get your hopes up.

You went to lunch one day and you sat alone eating when you felt eyes on you. You looked up across the room and saw Gabriel looking at you longingly as he ate or at least you thought he was looking at you. You looked around making sure no one was standing behind you. Yep, he was definitely looking at you. You lifted your hand and gave a small wave. He didn't react and that's when you realized he was unaware that he was staring. You smiled to yourself a bit before you crushed that glimmer of yearning that sprang up inside you. You got up, picked up your tray and left the mess hall, finishing your meal in the studio. 

One night a couple weeks later, there was a knock at your door. You opened it to find no one was there. When you stuck your head out into the hall and looked down it you thought you saw what looked like Gabriel’s frame quickly rounding the corner. You ran down the hall to follow him but when you rounded the corner the hall was empty. 

“I must have imagined it.” You thought before turning to go back to your room.

Gabriel waited a bit before coming out of the janitorial closet he had ducked into when he heard you running down the hall. He sighed.

“What the hell am I doing here?” he asked himself out loud before making his way out of your building.

Another month passed and your stress levels were up. Charity's trial was right around the corner and the prosecution was dotting i's and crossing t's making sure they had all their ducks in a row to go to trial. They started getting you prepared to testify worried about details you thought shouldn't matter like your cadence when you spoke, what you should wear, how you were going to look. You still weren't getting much sleep, your nightmares, while not as frequent, were still keeping you awake and the stress was affecting your appetite, eating became almost an after thought and you realized the lack of care you were giving to yourself was starting to become visible to others. 

At one of your meetings with the prosecutor, a whole 45 minutes had been devoted to sitting with his assistant who came in with a bag of makeup she had purchased at the prosecutors request. She spent the time talking about concealers and things you could do to cover the dark circles under your eyes and make yourself look more awake. Any other time you would have been insulted, but she was so nice about it, taking the time to show you how to use each product that you just quietly went along with it.

One late night you found yourself in the studio, unable to sleep, as was usual these days. You had danced for maybe two hours and you decided to call it a night and try to get some sleep. You locked up the studio and turned to walk down the hall to leave when you collided with Gabriel who was headed in the same direction. You stepped back looking at him.

"Sorry," you said. 

He said nothing, just kept looking back at you, expressionless.

"Good night then," you said and began walking down the hall.

Gabriel hesitated for a moment then stated walking, catching up with you. The two of you walked next to each other in silence. When you got to the door he opened it for you and you exited as he followed behind you.

"Thanks," you said.

He grunted a reply. You silently walked together toward the barracks before he veered to the left heading toward the parking lot. 

"Does he hate me that much? He could've at least said 'goodnight'," you thought as you continued toward your room.

The following month Charity's trial started and your nightmare's upped their frequency as you anticipated the day you'd have to take the stand and face her in court. You knew Charity's lawyer was going to be tough, the prosecution had told you as much and had tried to prepare you for it, but when the day finally came you weren't expecting how hard they went on you. Charity's lawyer ripped you to shreds as they tried to tear apart your credibility. Claiming that you had a vendetta against Charity out of jealousy for her prior relationship with Gabriel. That you would do anything to hurt her even use sex to make Charity look bad. The whole thing had been hard to watch for everyone observing but you held onto your composure by a thread, never cracking, never taking the bait. 

As you were coming down off the stand Gabriel saw the look on your face and he got up and followed you as you left the courtroom. 

"Y/N," he called after you, the first words he has said to you in months. You turned around, wiping tears from your face with both hands.

He walked over to you and put his arms around you and you cried into his chest. He rubbed your back holding you, moving you over to a nearby bench where you both sat down. He looked at you, wiping your tears from your face before taking your hands into his.

"Don't cry Y/N, you did great up there. Anyone else would have folded under the pressure but you held your own. You should be proud."

"Proud of what?" you cried. "You were right, I prostituted myself to get dirt on her. I went too far and had I not done that I wouldn't look like the vengeful person her lawyer portrayed me as"

He wiped the new tears that fell from your eyes with his thumbs. 

"The prosecution should have done more to protect you up there. They wouldn't have a case without you. You're the reason why they got those drugs off the streets, why the families of the people she killed can finally get closure, why everyone she hurt can finally get justice." He lifted your chin looking in your eyes. "None of us would be here today without you. Don't let her stupid lawyer get to you. Everyone can see her for who she is now and that's because of you Y/N, for that you have every reason to be proud."

You nodded, sniffling.

"Thank you." He brought your hands to his mouth and kissed your knuckles.

"You wanna go back in?" you nodded and he smiled.

"Go clean your face first. Don't give those assholes the satisfaction of seeing you cry." You nodded. He leaned in and kissed your cheek. "Go, I'll be right here."

You went to the bathroom and cleaned your face then Gabriel walked you back into the courtroom, holding your hand. He had you sit where he had been sitting next to Jack and he sat on your other side. Jack leaned over and kissed your cheek, then took your hand and held it. Gabriel continued holding onto your other hand. The three of you continued to sit that way as you watched the rest of trial that day.

Later on that day, Charity's father arranged for a memorial service to be held at Amir's gravesite. Now that all the details surrounding his death had come to light he felt it was appropriate to honor him. A large crowd gathered, most of them agents from Overwatch who had worked with or had known Amir. Jack, Gabriel and Ana were, of course, in attendance. 

You stood off to the side from everyone, feeling like you didn't really belong, not sure why you even came. But you felt it right to pay your respects. Everyone bowed their heads as a prayer was said to close out the service. As you bowed your head and closed your eyes, you felt someone take your hand and intertwine their fingers with yours. You kept looking down until the prayer was over. Then looked up to see Gabriel standing next to you.

Everyone was beginning to leave the cemetery but he stayed standing there, his head still bowed as he clutched your hand tightly in his. Then you saw the teardrops falling from his face to the ground. He was silent. You stood there with him for a long time and eventually it was just the two of you there.

He let go of your hand and reached into his pocket pulling out a gold pendant, his gold pendant. He had cleaned it up since you last saw it. He walked to the headstone and stood in front of it, wiping his face with the back of his hands. 

"You always needed this more than I ever did," he said with a sniff as he laid it on top of the headstone before touching his hand to it as he stood there for a while. "Rest in peace my brother."

He removed his hand and sniffed some more wiping his face again before looking at you and holding out his hand to you. You walked over to him and took it and he pulled you to him putting his arm around you kissing your temple as you both began to walk out the cemetery.

"You have a way back?" he asked as you walked.

"I took a rideshare."

"Want a ride home?" 

"If you don't mind."

You got in the car and he started driving, holding your hand, the both of you silent as he drove you home. 


	16. Chapter 16

Gabriel pulled up in front of the condo and parked.

"This isn't-" you started.

"This is your home. I told you that when you first moved in. I had no right to kick you out of it."

You looked at him. He sat there for a moment before he chuckled a bit.

"Remember when I begged you not to let Charity get between us? Now look at us."

"I really fucked things up." you said.

"I, really fucked things up." he corrected. He paused before he spoke next. "Look, I don't expect you to come back today but the door is wide open. Move back in at your discretion, on your time table. You don't have to come back to my bed if you don't want to, we'll figure something out, but it just doesn't sit right with me that you're not there. This is your home Y/N, you should be in it."

"I'll think about it." He nodded. You both sat silent for several minutes.

"It was probably presumptuous of me to bring you here, but....do you want to come in?"

You looked at him for a second then nodded. You both got out and walked to the front door. He opened it letting you both in and you went to the living room sitting down on the couch as he closed the door.

"You hungry? Thirsty?" he asked.

"I'll take some water."

He got a glass out the cabinet and filled it with ice and water before bringing it to you and sitting down next to you on the couch. You drank it down half way then grabbed a coaster from the stack on the coffee table and set the glass on top of it. Gabriel smiled.

"You're all over this house Y/N. In all the small details, from those coasters to the magnets on the refrigerator." you smiled some, looking down.

He took your hand and you looked at him as he abruptly pushed the coffee table back with his other hand and maneuvered himself off the couch to kneel on the floor in front of you, taking your other hand. Your eyes went wide in surprise.

"I'm so sorry Y/N. For kicking you out, but also for how I spoke to you, the names I called you. Charity made my life hell for years and I never called her any of those things, but to reserve them for you?.....You didn't deserve that Y/N, you didn't deserve any of it."

He brought your hands to his mouth and kissed them both. You looked at him, still caught off guard.

"I should have apologized to you earlier. Two days after you left I realized I had made the biggest mistake of my life, but after blowing up the way I did...... I didn't know how to admit to you that I was wrong, I was so wrong...me and my stupid pride. You risked your life for me and I threw it back in your face and I'm sorry baby, I'm so so sorry."

He scoot forward and leaned over your knees, laying his upper body down on you his head on your lap as he wrapped his arms around you. You looked at him bewildered, holding your hands up unsure what to do with them.

"I'm just a stupid, stubborn, old man, who lets his ego get the best of him sometimes and you have every right to be mad at me, but when your done being mad, forgive me Y/N, please forgive me."

He sat up and pulled your knees apart so he could scoot between your legs, grabbing your face in his hands as he brought his own mere inches from yours, speaking low.

"I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for me. What happened with Amir, its haunted me, I couldn't forgive myself and in some ways I still can't, but at least now I have some semblance of closure. I can finally begin to make peace with all this. You gave me that Y/N."

He leaned in and kissed your cheek and you grabbed his wrists with both your hands, closing your eyes as his warmth seeped into your palms and something within you broke. As he kissed your other cheek a tear fell from your eye and he wiped it away before wrapping his arms around you pulling you to him in an embrace. You laid against him wrapping your arms around him, head on his shoulder, as you cried.

"I'm so sorry Y/N. I'm sorry that I let you go through all this on your own. You've been so brave and so strong. I should've been there supporting you. I'm sorry baby."

You laid against Gabriel and sobbed hard as every emotion you had been holding onto for the past few months came bubbling up to the surface. Anger, fear, hurt, sadness, your hearbreak at Gabriel's reaction, all the stress from preparing for court, all the sleepless nights where nightmares had kept you awake, your current fears that everything you had done wasn't going to be enough, that Charity was going to somehow walk away from all this with no consequences and then she was gonna come after you. You cried it all out while Gabriel held you stroking your back and hair. You cried for a long time and when you finally started to calm you were exhausted. He pulled back from you looking at you seeing how tired you were.

"You want to lay down?"

You nodded and pulled your legs up into yourself turning yourself to lay down on the couch.

"I can take you to the bed."

"Right here is fine." you said slowly through intermittent sniffles settling, yourself on your side. As soon as you closed your eyes you were out. Gabriel looked at you, stroking your hair back from your face before he got up to get a blanket, but changed his mind mid-stream and went to Jack's room knocking on the door. Jack opened it.

"Let Y/N lay down in there."

Jack looked over Gabriel’s shoulder and saw you asleep on the couch. He walked past him to you and scooped you up carrying you to his room. He tucked you into his bed then came out the room closing the door behind himself. He and Gabriel sat down in the living room.

"She looked so tired today, actually she looks like that everyday lately. Glad she's getting some rest." Jack said.

"I bumped into her at Overwatch a month ago late at night. I think she was there because she couldn't sleep, I guess that's still the case."

"Makes sense. This is a lot to deal with and she won't talk to me about it. She just holds it all in."

"Hmmm"

They went silent for a moment.

"I want to do something for her, something special." said Gabriel.

"Trying to win her back?"

"Yes and no. I mean, she deserves something nice to take her mind off all this. If it gets me back on her good side I'm ok with that, if not....I'm ok with that too." Jack smiled.

"No you're not." Gabriel smiled and huffed a laugh.

"You right," he chuckled, "I told her if she came back home she didn't have to come back to my bed. I sounded so cool when I said it I think she actually believed that I meant it."

"What if she never comes back? What if this is really the end for you two?"

There was silence as Gabriel thought.

"I'll spend the rest of my life hating myself for ruining the best thing that's ever happened to me. What do you do when you realize that your the reason why you can't have nice things."

"Stop being an idiot I suppose. But I realize that"s a lot to ask from you."

"Shut up." Jack laughed.

"You know what you want to do for her? Cause if you don't, I have some ideas, things that'll score you some major points with her."

"I'm listening."

You woke up in the dark and you realized you were in a bed that wasn't your own. It smelled like Jack. You began to remember coming to the condo, Gabriel practically groveling on his knees. Then you remembered experiencing every feeling known to mankind, crying, then falling asleep on the couch. You took a deep breath, pushing the covers off you, swinging your legs over the edge of the bed to stand. You held you hands out in front of you shuffling forward until you touched the door. You felt for the doorknob and opened it and walked out into the living room. Gabriel was sitting at the island sipping a drink looking at his holopad. Jack was no where to be seen.

"Where's Jack?" you asked. Gabriel turned around and looked at you as you walked over to the island to stand next to him.

"He got called into Overwatch."

As you stood next to him, he put his hand on the back of your head and leaned in to kiss your forehead.

"You ok?" you nodded. "You want something to eat?" You shook your head.

"Can you take me back to Overwatch?"

"You can stay Y/N, get some more rest. You look-" you cut him off.

"Tired? Yeah, people have been telling me that."

You pulled the chair next to him back and hoisted yourself up into it sitting so you faced him. He turned some in his seat to look at you.

"What's going on? Having trouble sleeping?"

"Some."

"Have you talked to Angela? She can give you something that might help."

"Given...everything, I don't really want to go the drug route." He nodded.

"I get that."

You both sat silent for a while. Gabriel reached over and grabbed your hand. You let him hold it for a while massaging your palm with his thumb before he started to intertwine your fingers. You pulled your hand away, hopping off the chair.

"I can get a rideshare if its too much trouble. I just really want to be in my own bed."

"I"ll take you back." he said, sounding a little disappointed, getting off his own chair and grabbing his keys.

The ride to Overwatch was silent. When he pulled in front of the barracks, you unbuckled yourself and went to grab the door handle to get out when he grabbed your hand to stop you. You looked at him.

"Y/N I really am sorry." You sighed.

"Gabriel. I.....I just can't deal with this right now. I'm exhausted Gabe. I don't have the bandwidth for the trial and this, but I hear you." You put your hand on his cheek and he leaned into your touch putting his hand over yours, "I heard you, ok?"

He nodded. You removed your hand and opened the door and got out.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight." 

You closed the door and made your way to your building. 

When you got in your room you began to undress and get ready for bed when a manila envelope caught your eye from inside your dresser drawer. You picked it up and remembered you had taken it from Charity's kitchen as you had left her apartment. Everything had happened so fast after that that you didn't have time to think about it and you had ended up shoving it in the dresser drawer under some shirts.

You brought it to the bed and opened it, pulling out the papers inside. You went through them, it wasn't much, just six pages of what looked like billing records for payments made to a company called Cryogen Unlimited. You took out your phone and did a search for the company. Apparently Cryogen Unlimited specialized in cryogenic freezing and cryopreservation. They had facilities all over the globe. You saved their customer service number into your phone, you'd give them a call in the morning. 


	17. Chapter 17

You got up the next morning and got dressed for court. Before you left, you decided to give Cryogen Unlimited a call.

"Hello, this is Kitt. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?"

"Y/F/N Y/L/N"

"Hello Y/N. I just need your account number to bring up your file."

You read off the account number from the papers. You heard Kitt typing on the other end.

"Ok, got that up and...oh....oh....ma'am what did you say your name was?"

"Y/F/N Y/L/N"

"O...K" you heard more typing. "Ma'am I'm so sorry but I'm going to have to refer you to my supervisor. He's busy right now, but if you give me your number-"

"Wait, can you at least give me some information on the account?"

"I'm afraid I can't ma'am. This account has been flagged for supervisory review. He'll need to look at your account before any information can be given out. So if I can get your number..."

You gave her your number.

"Is there anything else I can do for you today?" she asked.

"Uh no but-"

"Thank you for calling Crygen Unlimited have a great day." 

She hung up.

You looked at the phone in surprise.

"Ok?" you said to yourself.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. You opened it and Gabriel was standing on the other side.

"Thought you might want a ride to court."

"Um...sure." 

He put his hand on your cheek stroking it with his thumb. He started leaning in to kiss the other one when you backed away and turned from him.

"Let me get my things."

You grabbed your phone and your bag off the bed and followed Gabriel down to his car. He opened your door and you got in and put on your seatbelt, then he got in and pulled off. You both were silent for a while as you looked out the window.

"You know, you didn't have to give your car back," Gabriel said.

"It seemed silly to keep it. Its mainly to get to and from Overwatch, right? I live there now, its not really necessary anymore." Gabriel nodded and you both went silent again, you continued looking out the window.

"If you ever need a ride somewhere you can ask me. I don't mind...You could have asked me before." You looked at him.

"You weren't really talking to me so I doubt my requests would have gotten anywhere." He sighed.

"I'm sorry about that Y/N." There was a pause.

"You said you realized you had made a mistake two days after you had put me out. Yet for months you treated me like I was scum on the bottom of your shoe, what was that about?"

"Just...being stubborn I guess. I couldn't admit that I was wrong and I didn't know how to stop."

"You didn't know how to stop hating me?"

"I could never hate you Y/N,"

"You just went out of your way to make me feel like you did." He said nothing. 

You both went silent again. You turned to look out the window again. When you got to the court house and the designated court room for the trial you went to the row of seats where Jack was sitting, Gabriel followed behind you. Jack stood and gave you a hug and kissed your cheek.

"How you feeling today?" 

"I'm ok. Hey, can you switch seats with me?" Jack looked at you a little taken aback.

"Uh, whatever you want Y/N." 

You both shuffled past each other so you were sitting where Jack once sat, Jack was to your left and to his left was Gabriel. Jack looked at you, then looked at Gabriel who was pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, his eyes closed, slowly shaking his head. 

The trial got underway for the day. There was a brief 15 minute recess at one point and you got up to use the restroom. Jack and Gabriel remained seated. Jack chuckled as he looked at Gabriel.

"She is mad at you."

"Yeah, and I'm just gonna suck up and take it." Jack nodded.

"That's mature of you. Just keep falling on your sword. Its working great for you so far." 

"Is it?"

"I think so. Y/N could be a lot madder then she is. I think your groveling yesterday softened her up."

"You saw that?"

"Yeah, I did. You know if you and Y/N don't get back together, make sure you ask her when you can get your balls back from her."

"Oh fuck you Jack," Jack laughed. 

You came back to the row to sit down. Both men stood so you could shuffle back to your seat. As you passed Gabriel, you lost your balance and fell back against him, instinctually reaching out for something to grab. He gave you his hand to hold and wrapped his arm around your waist pulling you to himself.

"You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine." 

"Jack, move down, let her sit here." Jack moved down back to his original position.

"I said I'm fine." 

"Don't be stubborn Y/N." 

"Said the pot to the kettle," you retorted. Jack snickered and Gabriel glared at him as he helped you sit down.

The trial got back underway. As you sat listening, your hand found its way into his and he absentmindedly played with your fingers. 

When the trial broke for lunch, you, Gabriel, and Jack went to a cafe walking distance from the courthouse. Gabriel took notice of the fact that you only ordered tea. When the trial let out for the day he drove you back to Overwatch.

"Y/N are you ok? I noticed you didn't eat anything at lunch."

"Wasn't hungry." There was a pause.

"What are you doing for dinner?"

"Leftover's I guess."

"You guess?...Can I bring you something?"

"You don't have to."

"Well I'm going to." 

"Suit yourself."

Sure enough later that evening Gabriel was at your door with a take-out bag. You went to take it from him and close the door but he stopped you.

"My food is in there too. I thought we could eat together." 

You looked at him, then sighed.

"Come in." 

You both sat on the bed where he emptied the contents of the bag. He started to eat, but noticed you were picking at the food, taking small bites here and there. 

"You don't like it?" You looked up at him.

"No its fine. My appetite is just messed up lately. Stress from the trial."

"What do you have to be stressed about? You've testified, done everything you could for the prosecution and police. Your part in this is pretty much over." you sighed.

"I guess." He looked at you incredulously.

"What are you worried about Y/N?"

You hesitated, not really wanting to be so vulnerable with him, but you were too tired for pretenses.

"Honestly, I'm scared." Gabriel was about to bring a forkful of food to his mouth when he stopped and set his food down to the side then moved your food out the way as well so he could sit closer to you. You were looking down and he lifted your chin so you looked at him. 

"What are you afraid of?"

"That she'll get away with everything. That she'll come after me."

He grabbed your face.

"That wont happen Y/N, there's no way she walks away from this without doing some major prison time. You have nothing to worry about. Either way, I won't let anything happen to you."

You closed your eyes and grabbed his wrists, feeling his warmth, letting it comfort you. Suddenly you felt him peck your lips and you opened your eyes and looked at him. He looked back at you, and you could see the love for you in his eyes as he ran his thumb over your lips. He let your face go and grabbed your food picking up your fork.

"Here, you need to eat some of this" You shook your head as he tried to bring the fork to your mouth and you pushed it away. "Just a couple bites Y/N."

"No" you said pushing the fork away again as he tried to bring the food to your mouth.

"Stop fighting me" 

"You sto-" he stuck the fork in your mouth while you were mid-sentence. You pouted as you started to chew." He laughed.

"Look at that face," he leaned forward and kissed your mouth. "Still so pretty even when your being a brat." You swallowed.

"I am not," you whined.

"You are, but its cute on you...for tonight. I won't put with this tomorrow." you rolled your eyes.

"Whatever."

He fed you a few more bites before you wouldn't take anymore and the put the food away in your refrigerator. He put his own back in the bag and got up to leave. You followed him to the door and he turned back and put his hand on your cheek.

"Y/N, if you can't sleep, or your feeling scared...call me, ok?" 

You nodded. 

"If you want me to come to you, I will. Just tell me."

You nodded again as you thought about every night you wanted him to just come hold you until you fell back to sleep. Tears started to flood your eyes but you didn't let them fall. 

"Have a good night." you said softly.

"Goodnight," he said, before he left.

The trial went on for a few more days and then it was over. Charity was found guilty of all charges against her. As she was being cuffed, she spotted you in the court room.

"You bitch! You lying bitch!" They started to escort her out. Her eyes on you pinned you to the spot you were standing in. "You better hope I never get out of prison because the first thing I'll do is come after you! I'll kill you Y/N! Do hear me!? I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed as she was removed from the room. You felt your knees buckle some and Gabriel placed his hand on your back to brace you. 

You all made your way out of the courtroom. As you got in the hall Dr. Courtland came up to you. He held out his hand and you took it shaking it.

"What will you do now Dr. Courtland?"

"I have a sister. She was always supportive of me. I think she'd be happy to know her big brother is alive." You nodded. "Thank You Y/N...for giving me the opportunity to do the right thing and make up for everything I've done....It'll be a long time before I make peace with all this, but, this is a start."

"Take care Dr. Courtland." 

"You too. You're a lot tougher then you look." you smiled. 

He turned and began to walk away. As he did Gabriel called out to you and you turned toward his voice. You saw him coming toward you and as he got closer you noticed a beautiful short petite latina women next to him, his hand was on her back. You met them in the middle and stopped.

"Y/N, this is Mina." You smiled. 

"Mina, its so nice to finally meet you." You held out your hand to her.

"I'm sorry, can I...can I hug you?" she asked.

"Sure," you said. 

You embraced each other.

“I just wanted to thank you. Charity got me hooked on cocaine and nearly ruined my life. I’m just so grateful to you for getting the truth out there. I tried to come after her myself legally but failed. You got me the justice I couldn’t get for myself. Just...thank you so much.”

She hugged you again. 

"I was telling Gabriel, today actually marks five years of sobriety for me. I had a couple of setbacks, but, I’m five years clean today. Apropos right?” she said.

"That's amazing Mina." you said. "I'm so happy for you." 

"So what are you up to these day's?" Gabriel asked.

"Oh, well I moved to Hawaii of all places I'm a surf and scuba instructor at a little school I opened up with my boyfriend...or should I say fiance. He proposed before I came out here. I’m still getting used to it.”

"Oh wow, congratulations! Is this ring?" you asked pointing to her finger, she nodded holding her hand out so you could look at it. "Its gorgeous." 

"Thanks."

"I'm glad to hear things are working out for you Mina. I'm happy for you." Gabriel said.

"Thank you. You know if you hadn't supported me like you did back then, I don't think I'd be where I am now, so thank you again. Thank you to you both." 

"I'm glad you got a happy ending out of all of this." she nodded as she grinned.

"Well I don't want to keep you two, I actually have to catch my flight back. Thank you again Y/N and it was good seeing you again Gabriel."

"Have a safe trip back," you said as you hugged her again, then Gabriel hugged her.

"It was good seeing you. Take care Mina,” he said.

She waved as she walked away from you both.

"Awww that was nice." you said. 

"Yeah it was," said Gabriel. "You ready to go?"

"I'm gonna use the restroom real quick." he nodded.

You started walking toward the bathrooms but as you did the world went dark for a second then came back into focus and you felt yourself stumble a bit. You reached for a nearby wall to steady yourself, then you kept walking. You started to feel dizzy. Then everything went black again and you could feel yourself falling. When the world came back into focus Gabriel was holding you.

"I got you baby. I got you."

"Gabriel?" you said weakly, before the world went dark again.


	18. Chapter 18

When you opened your eyes, you recognized where you were. In the condo, in Gabriel's bed. You pulled the covers back and realized you weren't in the clothes you remembered putting on. Instead you were in one of Gabriel's t-shirts and your panties. You got out the bed and made your way out the room. Gabriel was in the kitchen and as soon as you got past the threshold he saw you and started walking toward you.

"Back in bed. Now." he said pointing to the bedroom.

"But-"

"No, but's. You're not gonna fight me on this Y/N, get back in bed." You turned around and made your way back into the room and back into bed as he followed behind you. He sat down next to you. "You passed out from exhaustion Y/N. You obviously haven't been taking care of yourself so until I say otherwise your allowed to do three things- eat, sleep, and let me take care of you."

"But-" he put his finger to your lips.

"Hush. Are you hungry?" You shook your head. "Well your gonna try eating something anyways." He stood. "Do not leave this bed." 

"What if I have to use the bathroom?" He looked at you.

"Four things, you're allowed to do four things." You smiled. "I'll be right back."

He left the room and came back with a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of juice on it. He sat in front of you and blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it before bringing it to your mouth, which you wouldn't open.

"Open your mouth Y/N." You shook your head. He sighed. "I'm getting this soup in you one way or another so I suggest you do this the easy way." You looked at him then opened your mouth. He put the spoon in. 

"There you go. Isn't that yummy?" he said like he was talking to a baby. You narrowed your eyes at him. He continued to baby you. 

"Brbrbrbr here comes the airplane," he said moving the spoon around a bit before bringing it to your mouth. You swallowed. 

"Are you being serious right now?" you said annoyed. He got another spoonful. 

"I'm serious about this train coming at you. Chooooo-cho-" 

"Give me the damn spoon Gabriel!" 

He smiled as he set the spoon down in the bowl. You grabbed the tray, pulling it onto your lap and began to eat, the irritation rolling off you. 

"Treat me like a baby...... I'm 31 fucking years old," you said between spoonfuls. 

He sat there watching you, quietly laughing to himself. When you finished the bowl he set your juice on the nightstand and grabbed the tray, kissing your forehead before he stood to leave the room. When he came back he laid down in the bed with you on top of the covers.

"Why aren't you sleeping Y/N? I remember bumping into you leaving the studio a month ago and you looked tired then. What's keeping you up?" You sighed.

"I have nightmares."

"About what?"

"About Charity sticking a syringe in my neck and then proceeding to stab me with it over and over and over again or her dosing my drink and then telling me to cut my face off and I do it or her locking me in a room and setting it on fire and watching as my skin melts off...stuff like that."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what? That I dread closing my eyes most nights. That the people in the neighboring rooms have complained about my screaming at odd hours of the night." Your eyes started to fill with tears. "That I reach for you and you're not...." You took a deep breath, composing yourself so your tears didn't fall. "I just deal with it all the best I know how."

He grabbed your hand.

"I'm home for the rest of the week because of the trial. Stay here for a few days. Get some rest. Let me look after you."

"Gabe."

"This doesn't have to mean anything. I just...I need you healthy. You need you healthy. You can't dance and teach your classes like this. Do this for yourself Y/N." You looked at him for minute then nodded. "Come here" 

He held his arms open and you stared at him.

"Y/N, come here." 

You started to scoot toward him under the covers until you were pressed to him, the blankets between you. He wrapped his arms around you and you laid your head against his chest. He kissed the top of your head.

"Rest."

You laid against him, feeling his warmth, breathing him in, listening to his heartbeat its steady rhythm and his hand rubbing your back lulling you to sleep.

When you woke next you were alone and it was dark in the room. You sat up and turned on the light on the nightstand. That's when you noticed George sitting next to the lamp. You looked over by the closet and one of your bags was sitting in front of it. He must have gone to your room and gotten some of you things. Damn him. Why'd he have to be so fucking sweet all the time? You got up and went to the restroom then made your way out the bedroom. Gabriel was sitting on the couch, face in his holopad. You sat down next to him. 

"You're gonna defy me every step of the way, aren't you?" He asked not looking at you.

"Calm down. I'm just here to find out what's for dinner." He smiled.

"Got your appetite back?" He was still looking at his holopad.

"Maybe"

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Breakfast....I want one of your omelettes." 

"My omelettes?" he asked.

"You know? The ones you'd make for us sometimes on the weekend."

"Hmm. Gotta see what's on hand in the fridge. Without you around to do the shopping, supplies have gotten kind of sparse."

"Yikes, you two are pathetic. No wonder you want me to come back home." He put his holopad down and looked at you.

"If you never bought, cooked, or cleaned another thing, I'd still want you to come back." You rolled your eyes turning your head away from him and he grabbed your chin turning you to face him. "While I appreciated all the things you used to do around here, I didn't care about any of that stuff. Before you moved in, I always thought of this as just the place I happen to live in. You being here, your presence, that's what makes this home a for me." His words touched you and you averted your gaze so he couldn't see it in your eyes.

He let you go and got up.

"Lets see whats in here." He said as he went to the refrigerator and opened it. You followed him and sat down at the island. "We got eggs that's about it." He closed the door and grabbed his keys. "I'll be back. You get back in bed." 

"Yeah yeah." you said and he left. You went back in the room and noticed your phone flashing. You picked it up to see you had a voicemail. You tapped it and put the phone to your ear to listen.

"Miss Y/L/N, my name is Bernard and I'm the floor supervisor here at Cryogen Unlimited. Unfortunately, your account is being managed by the Bergen and Jensen law firm in Chicago. We're unable to deal with you directly until you sign certain release forms on their end. I've passed your information along and hopefully someone will be getting back to you soon, until then there's nothing we here at Cryogen Unlimited can do for you. Wait for them to reach out to you and then we can go from there. Have nice day."

You looked at your phone and looked up the Bergen and Jensen law firm. They were estate lawyers. Why would your mother have anything to do with estate lawyers? You didn't grow up poor but you knew damn well your mother didn't have enough money to justify hiring an estate lawyer. Nothing about this was adding up. This could quite possibly be one of Charity's final manipulations. You decided to leave it alone for now.

A little later Gabriel came back with the ingredients he needed and he got to work making you both omelettes. You ate them in bed in a comfortable silence and then he cleared the trays away and you both got ready to go to bed for the night. You both fell asleep apart, on your respective sides of the bed. Some hours later you started to dream.

"No...no don't" you were tossing and turning on your back. Suddenly you shot up screaming. Gabriel shot up and looked at you.

"Y/N!"

You started frantically kicking, and wiping your hands at your legs screaming "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" You jumped out the bed standing next to it still frantically wiping at your legs.

"Y/N!" 

Your head shot up as you woke up. You stilled, you breaths coming out in pants as you stood there. You turned and went into the bathroom and closed the door. Gabriel got out of the bed. He was about to head to the bathroom but there was knocking at the bedroom door. He opened it.

"Everything Ok in here?" asked Jack.

"She had a nightmare," Jack nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I can do." 

Gabriel nodded and closed the door as Jack turned to go back to his room. He went to the bathroom and opened the door. You were sitting on the toilet, the lid closed, your head in your hand covering your face.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really," you said not looking up.

He knelt down in front of you and started rubbing the side of your thighs. 

"She poured acid in my lap. I could actually feel my skin burning as it melted away down to the bone." you said still not looking up.

"Charity can't hurt you or anyone else anymore."

"I know that. I'm just waiting for the part of me that controls dreams to catch up."

There was a long pause.

"You don't feel safe." Gabriel stated. You looked at him for a moment, realization coming to you.

"No, I don't." He sighed looking down.

Internally he was kicking himself, because he knew he was the reason for that. He had always set out to protect your spirit and he had been the main one to tear it down then on top of that he wasn't there for you when you needed him most. He had shaken your faith in him and your sense of security along with it. No wonder you were still having nightmares about Charity. At this point, it wasn't about her, so much as it was about the fact that you didn't feel like you could count on him anymore. He was going fix that, he had to, otherwise you were never going come back to him.

"You wanna go lay back down?" he asked.

"I guess." 

He stood and took your hands pulling you up to leave the bathroom. You both got back into bed and he laid on his back and pulled you to him. You laid on his chest as he wrapped his arms around you.

"I'm right here Y/N and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I swear it."

He held you close kissing your forehead and rubbing your shoulder and arm, until you drifted off again into a peaceful sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

You stayed with Gabriel, letting him cater to your every whim. Letting him feed you and hold you when you wanted to sleep. Him holding you went a long way toward keeping the nightmares at bay. You didn't talk about your relationship, but his touches and the kisses he stole made his feelings clear. Slowly, you could feel the numbness that you let consume you start to ebb away and you found yourself occasionally returning his touches and kisses and on a couple of occasions initiating them yourself.

On your third day there you laid in bed in the middle of the afternoon wrapped in Gabriel's arms as you talked a little. You don't know what made you do it, but as you looked at him you placed your hand on his cheek and pressed your lips to his. The kiss was slow and gentle. Gabriel made no moves to deepen it, he just held you to him, slowly running his hands over your back and the side of your body. When his fingertips touched the skin of your thigh, tingles running through you, you felt something you hadn't felt in months, arousal. You swiftly pulled back from him, pushing him away. He looked at you slightly confused. 

"I'm sorry," you said. 

He reached to tuck your hair behind your ear. 

"You don't have to be. Do whatever you feel Y/N. I'm following your lead."

"I don't know what I feel."

"That's ok. Take as much time as you need to figure it out. But for right now just focus on taking care of yourself, giving yourself whatever it is you need, whether that's rest or...." he ran his thumb over your lips. "I'll give you whatever you need, we don't have to make a thing out of it, I just want to take care of you."

You looked at him as you felt your arousal stir inside you. You weren't ready for this. 

"I just want to sleep, " you said, turning on your side away from him. You leaned back and reached your hand back behind you palm up, "Stay with me?"

He took your hand and intertwined your fingers.

"I'm right here."

You stayed one more day, then the following morning you and Gabriel went into Overwatch together to carry on with your regular workday. Laying in bed, sleeping the day away for four days and Gabriel refusing to let you skip any meals had actually done wonders for you and you felt more energized and refreshed, like you had gotten your strength back. You also felt a lot more clear-headed which was going to come in handy because you needed to really sit down and think about what you wanted to happen next between you and Gabriel. Clearly he wanted you back and his efforts to show you how sorry he was and that he still loved you weren't lost on you, but now that you were allowing yourself to feel your feelings you realized that you were still hurt by the things he had said and done and you didn't know if you felt safe with him anymore. The four days you had spent with him letting him take care of you helped to build back a small bit of trust but you still had doubts.

That first day back you went about your day as normal. What wasn't normal was Gabriel popping by the studio after your second class of the day to check on you.

"How are you feeling Y/N?"

"I feel fine." He put his hand on your forehead like he was checking for a temperature.

"Any dizziness?" You knocked his hand away, slightly irritated.

"No, I'm fine Gabriel. If I start to feel weird, I know where med-wing is."

"Ok. Just don't overdo it Y/N. Its your first day back, ease into it, don't push yourself too hard."

"I got it. Will that be all Dr. Reyes?" He smiled then turned to leave, when he got to the door he turned back.

"If you need anything I'm-"

"In your office, I know." He nodded then turned to leave.

Later on, he sat with you at lunch in the mess hall, which you didn't mind until he started pestering you to take some of his food because it didn't look like you had enough. You had gotten the same meal as him and the portion on each of your trays was similar. He put some of his food on your tray after you refused to take it yourself.

"Gabriel if I eat all of this I'm gonna be too stuffed to teach the rest of my classes."

"If you don't eat enough your gonna be too weak to teach them anyways."

"I'm fine Gabriel. I'm eating, see?," you brought a forkful of food to your mouth, chewed and swallowed, "Stop worrying so much. You're starting to get on my nerves." you said, irritated.

"Well the way you've neglected yourself gets on my nerves."

You were trying to be patient with Gabriel but he was driving you crazy. Suddenly he was giving you all this attention after months of ignoring you and he was overdoing it and overworking your last nerve. Plus, with all your emotions about everything that had happened swirling around, it all created a powder keg and you blew. You slammed your fork down and whipped to the side to look at him.

"Well if your only criteria for bedmates wasn't anything with a fucking pulse, I could've devoted these last few months to taking care myself, instead of spending them helping you get clear of the crazy woman you couldn't get rid of yourself," you snapped at him. Gabriel looked at you taken aback. "I mean, you wanna talk about somebody being a whore? Lets talk about it then, lets have that conversation." There was a momentary silence.

"Wow Y/N." You took a deep breath, deflating some.

"I know. I'm sorry. That was low."

"No, let's talk about it. My past bothers you, doesn't it?" you sighed.

"Only where it affects me." You paused. "Everyone has a past Gabriel. You don't judge me for mine and I truly don't judge you for yours. I'm just lashing out, picking at low hanging fruit. I'm sorry."

He nodded. You continued.

"I know you're just worried about me. I'm sure I probably scared the crap out of you when I passed out so I get you wanting to look after me. But maybe just....dial it back a little."

"I can try."

"Thank you."

You both finished your lunch in an awkward, uncomfortable silence.

At the end of the day, you made your way to your room. You had been dreading this part of the day, dreading having to go to sleep on your own without Gabriel there to comfort you. Earlier, you had been sure that if you asked him to come to your room he would, but that was before you snapped at him at lunch, now he probably just wanted to stay out of your crosshairs. When you got to the entrance of your building, you saw a familiar frame through the door waiting inside against the wall. You tried to hold back your smile.

"Keep it together, you loser," you thought to yourself. 

"Hey," you said when you got inside.

"Hey," said Gabriel "Thought you'd want some company until you fall asleep, but if you don't, I can go."

"No, stay, " you said quickly, internally admonishing yourself for how eager you sounded, ".....please." He gave a small smile and started walking with you to the elevators. You remained silent as you both made your way to your room.

"I'm gonna get a quick shower first," you said. 

He nodded and you collected your towel and the clothes you were going to sleep in and went into the bathroom. He walked around your room looking around a bit, when he noticed the papers on top of the manila envelope on top of your dresser. He picked them up, looking at the billing statements, taking note of the company name on them. He had heard of Cryogen Unlimited and had a cursory knowledge of what they did, but he wondered why you would be mixed up with them. He put the papers back on your dresser and sat down on the bed. A short while later you came out the bathroom freshly washed and dressed for bed in a t-shirt and sleep shorts. Gabriel got off the bed, pulling back the covers, letting you get in first before removing his shoes and getting in next to you, positioning himself so you laid on his chest. You both laid there silently for a while before he spoke.

"What business do you have with Cryogen Unlimited?" 

"What?" you said slightly irritated. "What makes you think you have the right to just come in here and go through my things?"

"I didn't go through anything. The papers were sitting out on your dresser."

You both were silent for a moment as you tamped down your annoyance.

"According to Charity, my mother had business with them."

"What would she know about your mother?"

"I don't know. She looked into my background, told me she had information to give me about my mother, but we never got that far."

"Well, how much further were you planning to get Y/N?" you rolled your eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look, I didn't set out to fuck Charity, ok? I honestly didn't feel like I had a choice in the matter and after she said she had planned on drugging me like she did Mina had I not done it, I knew I had made the right decision. All I was thinking about was getting back home to you Gabriel, whatever that took. So if I had to rub her clit to keep her from choking me to death or from drugging me then that's what I was gonna do." You paused. "I fucked her Gabriel and I know that's wrong on some level and I'm sorry but I wanted to survive, I wanted so badly to live." You started to cry, "Why can't you understand that?"

He wrapped his arms around you.

"I get it baby, I do. I didn't then, but I get it now." He paused. "You put yourself in an impossible situation and I'm not gonna lie, part of me hates that you did that Y/N, and I want to be really clear about this, I don't hate you, I hate the choice that you made. I hated being caught of guard and embarrassed like that. You could have said something Y/N."

"I didn't know how. I knew you'd hear the recording and find out eventually, I just didn't know how to tell you."

You both went silent for a while.

"I gotta say, you are one tough girl. I went back and listened to the recording again," you looked up at him incredulously, "Not that part, just you asking her questions, talking to her. I could hear the fear in your voice. I know experienced agents who would have bailed out sooner then you did when faced with that level of fear, but you stayed long enough to get her to admit to everything. That takes balls Y/N." You smiled a bit, "After I was done being upset and embarrassed, I realized how incredibly proud I am of you, like you were a recruit I had trained myself." He paused. "Personally, I think your in the wrong line of work Y/N. You sure you don't want to be an agent? We wouldn't be able to be together, but fuck, we could use someone like you," you giggled.

"I'm good just being a dancer, thanks."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

The silence returned.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" you asked.

"Sure." You snuggled into his chest feeling tiredness come over you and you felt him kiss your forehead as you drifted off.

Gabriel was gone when you woke in the morning but he came back the next night and the night after that staying with you long enough to get you to sleep before he would leave. But the evening following that, Gabriel came to the studio as you were just about to head to your room. He had a gym bag on his shoulder.

"I can't stay with you tonight Y/N. Actually I won't be able to stay with you for a while. I have a project I'm working on in the evenings, but I can call you when I get home." You nodded.

"Maybe its for the best. I need to start getting used to sleeping on my own anyways. I can't expect you to keep doing this forever."

He touched your cheek.

"Who knows, maybe you won't always be sleeping on your own." You looked at him, taking note of the hope in his eyes. "I gotta go. If you're still up, answer your phone." You nodded.

He got this determined look on his face, which you found strange. Then he turned and left.

You were up when he called you that night and you engaged in light conversation until you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore. You were happy to report the next day that you had no nightmares. Gabriel continued to call you at night through the rest of the week but as the next week started you found yourself falling asleep before his call came.

You dreamed, but your dreams were filled with Gabriel. At the beginning of the week he was whisking you off to fantastical places, performing magic before your eyes. By mid week you were making out and feeling each other up in cars and secluded meadows under the stars. By the end of the week were waking up moaning and panting from wet dreams as you felt yourself orgasm in your sleep. The wet dream you had had that Thursday night was so explicit you found you couldn't look at Gabriel that Friday and when he sat down next to you at lunch you tried your best not to blush.

"Are you ok Y/N? You look a little flushed." 

"Um...I'm fine. Its just a little hot in here." He scrunched his face up in disbelief and put his hand to your forehead. You took a deep breath, trying not to focus too much on his touch.

"You don't feel like you have a fever. I guess you are ok." 

You nodded.

"Hey, are you busy this weekend?" he asked.

"Not really, why?"

"That project I was working on is coming to a close and I have some free time on Saturday. Wondered if you wanted to spend the day with me."

"Um...I guess." 

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"That's a yes." 

"Good, because I have a couple things planned. Be ready bright and early tomorrow, dress for a hike."

"A hike? You know I don't like doing stuff like that."

"You'll enjoy this Y/N, I promise." You sighed. 

"Fine."


	20. Chapter 20

Saturday morning, Gabriel showed up at your door dressed for a hike in his cargo pants, a pull-over jacket and his beanie. You were also dressed for the occasion in boots, moisture wicking leggings, a t-shirt under a flannel button-up that you wore open and an insulated vest. You got on the road going about an hour out of town to a national park that had several trails. You both donned your backpacks and set off down one of the trails, Gabriel leading the way at first before you started walking side by side.

Both of you had been silent up until this point but it wasn’t awkward or weird and you continued the silence as you walked along the flat terrain, until you came to your first obstacle, a large downed tree trunk in your path. The trunk almost came up past your waist and you stood there pondering how you were going to get over it.

“Come here,” said Gabriel. You stood in front of him and he lifted you so you sat on top of the log. You swung your legs over and hopped down on the other side. Gabriel took a few giant steps back then took a running start, jumping up, planting his hand on the log, swinging his legs over before landing on the other side in one swift movement. 

“Show off,” you said. 

He smiled at you and you both kept walking. It was a sunny morning, but the canopy of the trees provided shade. You quietly looked around as you walked, taking in all the greenery, watching the birds dart around from tree to tree. It was peaceful, which was a welcomed change from all the chaos you had experienced just months prior. You weren’t really an outdoorsy person but you actually felt glad to be out here amongst nature, breathing in fresh, clean air. As you looked around, lost in your thoughts, you felt Gabriel grab your hand. You let him hold it until the terrain started to incline.

At first you were making your way up the incline side by side with Gabriel, but as it got steeper you started to fall behind him some. The next step you took you immediately felt your foot slip from under you. You had no time to think, no time to make noise, not even time to brace yourself as your face got closer and closer to the ground about to eat dirt. Suddenly it was like time stopped and you were suspended inches above the ground. That's when you realized Gabriel had caught you. 

"You ok Y/N?" 

All you could do was blink as he pulled you upright. He held onto you by your arms, making sure you stood steady on your feet. 

"That was close," he said. You nodded in agreement. "Walk in front of me, so I can keep an eye on you." You nodded. 

He kept a hand on you as you turned, making sure your footing was solid before letting you go. You continued up the steep incline and he continued behind you. Soon the terrain started to level out and when you were both on flat ground again you turned to him.

"Which way we going now?" you asked. 

"This way," he said grabbing your hand as he began to walk ahead of you, leading the way again. 

You walked for a while, hand in hand, until you started to hear what sounded like rushing water. Up ahead, you saw a clearing in the trees and when you got to it your suspicious were confirmed. You looked out over water rushing over large boulders before it fell down to the river several feet below. You stood there admiring the beauty of it. Then realized you were going to have to get across this some how. That's when you saw the large log suspended above the waterfall just in front of you and your stomach dropped. 

"Uh...we're not crossing this are we?" you asked. 

"We are."

"Do we have to?" 

"Can't go any further otherwise." 

You sighed with a groan. He looked at you and smiled. 

"Come on Y/N there's nothing to it. You'll be fine."

"If you say so."

Gabriel continued to take the lead stepping up on the log first, beginning to make his way across it. He walked across with ease like it was no big deal, which reassured you some. 

"If he can do it, so can I. Come on Y/N, you got this," you thought to yourself, psyching yourself up. 

You stepped on the log and began walking forward, your steps slow and steady. You were making good progress and were at the halfway point on the log when you decided, like an idiot, to look down. You stopped, frozen in place, eyes going wide.

"Oh shit! I don't got this. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit," you whispered to yourself. 

Gabriel had just gotten to the other side and he expected you to be right behind him, but when turned around he saw you standing in the middle of the log not moving. 

"What are you doing Y/N? Come on." he called to you. You looked at him. 

"I...I cant." 

"What?"

"I can't move." You started to look back down. 

"Don't look down Y/N!" he shouted, but it was too late, your gaze was now fixated on the water plummeting to the river below. "Y/N!" 

You snapped your gaze up at him, your sudden movement making you wobble a bit and you screamed as you re-balanced yourself. 

"I want to get off!" you screamed. 

"Come to me Y/N. Listen to my voice. Come to me."

"I can't, I'm gonna fall!" 

Gabriel took off his backpack, setting it on the ground, and stepped on the log making his way over to you. When he got in front of you, he reached for you. 

"No! Don't touch me!" you shouted looking between him and the rushing river below. 

"Y/N, look at me." You looked up at him and he held his hand out to you. "Give me your hand baby."

You looked at him for a moment then tentatively reached your hand out to him, your fingertips sliding into his palm. He closed his hand around them and gently pulled you forward some. You screamed as you came toward him, gaze back on the ground. 

"Y/N, look at me sweetheart." He lifted your chin so your eyes were on his. "I got you, I won't let you fall."

"You promise?" you said almost panicked. 

"I promise Y/N. I'll never let you down again. You hear me?"

You nodded 

He started to step backwards, your hands in his as you tentatively stepped forward. 

"Good girl," you were about to look down again when he stopped you, "Keep looking at me baby", you trained your eyes on him. "That's it, now step forward." You took another tentative step then another as he continued to step backwards. "There you go baby just keep looking at me. I won't let you fall. You trust me?" 

You were hesitant at first but you began to nod. He smiled a bit. "You're almost there, just a few more steps….That's it." Soon you were stepping off the log onto the hard ground on the other side. You swiftly wrapped your arms around his waist, pressing yourself to him, taking deep relieved breaths.

He wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your back under your bag.

"I never want to do that again. This is why I don't go outside." he chuckled.

"You did fine Y/N." 

"Thank you, for coming to get me." 

"Always." You were still clinging to him. "Want to keep going?" You nodded, but didn't release your grip on him. "You gonna let me go?"

"Not yet." he smiled. You clung to him for a few more seconds then let him go. He bent down to grab his bag off the ground then took your hand.

"Lets go."

The terrain going forward was flat but the amount of trees became more dense. You walked for what seemed like hours until you noticed there were no more trees further up ahead. When you came out of the dense woods you were greeted by a sea of deep purple. As far as your eye could see, along the tree line, was a large open field of purple irises. You had never seen so many flowers planted in one place and there had to be millions of them. It was like something out of a nature book and you stood there in awe marveling at the scenery. Gabriel began to walk, your hand still in his, leading you through the flowers to the center of the field, both of you taking care not to step on any of the irises as you went. When you got to the center, the field opened up to a large patch of grass where no flowers were planted. Gabriel took his bag off, opened it and pulled out a blanket, spreading it out on the ground. You looked at it kind of dumbfounded, you really weren't expecting this.

"Have a seat." he said, slightly amused.

You sat down and he started pulling other things out his bag. Plastic containers with food in them, a bottle of wine and mugs to drink it out of and a large bottle of water. You grabbed the wine and looked at it, as you did he looked at his watch.

"It's past 11, or is that still too early for you to have a drink?"

"Should we be drinking at all? We've gotta go back across that log. Maybe we should be sober for that." 

"Eeh" He shrugged, "I think we'll be ok, but if you prefer that we abstain..."

"I do," you said handing him back the bottle. He put it back in his bag.

He got settled on the blanket next to you and started picking up the containers of food. From what you could tell, they had sandwiches and chips inside and there was a large fruit salad for you both to share.

"This one's yours." he said handing it to you. When you took it you noticed an "O" in black marker on the lid. 

"What's that mean?" 

""O" for olives. You like olives on your tuna, right?" You nodded slowly looking at him a little baffled that he knew that.

"Don't look at me like that Y/N. You think I'm not paying attention, but I see everything." You smiled.

You pulled hand sanitizer out of your bag and gave you both a squirt before you both started to dig in. You looked around silently as you ate. This had to be one of the most beautiful places you had ever eaten lunch at. Surrounded by the fragrant irises, sun shining but not beating down on you. It was like something out of a fairy tale. How did he always manage to do things like this? Make everything special and magical right when you needed them to be. He said you were his princess but the term of endearment always meant so much more to you because he went out of his way to make you feel like one too. Gabriel wasn't a rich man, but he knew how to use what he had to make life grand for you and you loved everything he did. All the trimmings and trappings of a life with money that Charity tried to tempt you with never phased you, because Gabriel could make you feel like you were the most lavish and opulent right within the confines of your little two bedroom condo, right within the confines of his arms and he did it all without complaint, reservation, or provocation. You knew very well that Gabriel wasn't a picnic in a flowery meadow kind of guy. He was a whiskey and cigar in front of the TV kind of man, rugged and no frills, but he gladly did all of this for you because he knew you liked it, that these kinds of things brought you joy and made you smile.

When you had finished eating, Gabriel laid back on the blanket and you laid back with him, laying on his chest tucked under his arm. 

"This is really pretty Gabriel and peaceful. I'm glad you brought me."

"Thought you could use peaceful right about now. A lot has happened. I thought this would be a nice place to just be still for a while." you nodded.

You both laid there silent as a light breeze blew making the flowers sway around you. You laid there reflecting on everything that had happened over the past few months. You had for the most part single-handedly taken down Charity and her black market drug enterprise and in the process had lost the love of your life and your home. When had your life turned into a tragic action movie? All you had wanted to do was help and support Gabriel, when did that all become so damn complicated? At least it was over now. Charity was in prison and Gabriel was trying his hardest to win you back. The question now was, were you going to let him win? Your body wanted you to with its ridiculous wet dreams, your heart did too, when you were being honest with yourself. Your head was the only hold out, with all its logical reasons why you shouldn't. "You'll piss him off again and he'll leave you. If you move back in with him he could just up and kick you out whenever the mood struck. You fucked Charity and embarrassed him in front of his colleagues, he'll never trust you again, he'll never look at you the same," and on and on your mind went, until Gabriel grabbed your hand and intertwined your fingers.

"I love you Y/N," he said.

"I love you too," you said in your head, the reply instinctual and ingrained, but you found you didn't want to say it out of habit, you wanted to say it because you meant it. After everything, every part of you still loved him, it was hard not to with him being so sweet to you all the time...and he was handsome, and sexy, and he knew how to touch your body in all the right places, the way his tongue felt on your cli- OK! You were getting carried away. You took a deep breath and decided to stop thinking so much for right now and just enjoy this time with him. Whatever it meant, whatever feelings it evoked, you were just going to enjoy it.

You laid there for a while before Gabriel sat up and turned to you placing his hand on your cheek, leaning down to claim your lips in a slow gentle kiss and not only did you let him, you kissed him back. When he pulled back he smiled at you and you smiled back at him.

"Ready to clean up, head back down?" he asked. You nodded.

You both got up and put the empty containers and the folded up blanket back in Gabriel's bag. You grabbed his hand and you walked side by side out of the field and back into the woods.

You leaned against his arm as you walked through the woods back to the waterfall. When you got in front of the log Gabriel shifted his backpack so he was carrying it on his front, then bent down.

"Hop on," he said. 

You looked at him for a moment then climbed onto his back, wrapping your arms around him and he stood gripping your legs, bouncing you some to adjust you on his back before he stepped on the log and began to cross. You closed your eyes pressing the side of your face to his back, your hands secure on his shoulders. When you opened them he was just stepping off the log and he continued to carry you. You held onto him and pressed intermittent kisses to his neck, which you couldn't see made him smile. He set you down when he got to the incline and started to go down it slowly at an angle, stopping every so often to check on you, fighting the urge to reach out and grab your hand, knowing you'd need both of them if you fell. He'd never let that happen, but it still wasn't a safe thing to do. He did, however, hold your hand once you got back on flat terrain as you walked through the trees and back to the car.

You both got in and he looked at you before he pulled off.

"I have something planned for later on so we have a few hours to rest up. I can take you back to Overwatch, but I was hoping you'd want to come back to the condo with me."

You were about to say no, but you remembered that you were supposed to letting yourself enjoy the time with him. 

"I'll go home with you."

"Ok"

He pulled off from the parking lot and headed for the condo. As he drove he grabbed your hand and kissed the back of it, continuing to hold it the whole way back.


	21. Chapter 21

When you got back to the condo, you and Gabriel went into the bedroom and took separate showers. You had packed a couple pairs of clean panties for the hike, which Gabriel thought was weird but you figured if your packing for survival in the outdoors, clean underwear should be near the top of the list, even if you were only going to be out there for a couple hours. Gabriel gave you a t-shirt to put on and you got in bed together and took a much needed nap. 

Some hours later Gabriel was shaking you awake.

"Y/N wake up, let's get ready to go."

"Mmm" you mumbled groggily, "Where are we going?" 

"I'll tell you when get up, come on."

You sat up slowly wiping at your eyes. Looking around for a minute as you became more alert. You noticed Gabriel was dressed like he was ready to leave, in a black button up with red stitched detailing down the sides and dark blue jeans. His curls were wet like he had just put product in them and he smelled of cologne. You watched him go to the closet and come out with a shoe box and some clothes that were folded up on top.

"I got you something. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but I'm hoping you do."

He set everything down on your lap and you began to go through it unfolding the first garment which was a fitted black shirt, you noticed it had the same red stitched detailing on the sides as Gabriel's. The next garment was a pair of tight black jeans with rips in the thighs the red detailing continuing down the sides of them as well. In the box was a pair of red strappy heels. You looked at him.

"Where the hell are we going?" 

"There's a bachata demonstration in the park." You scrunched your face.

"What do you know about bachata?"

"Not much, but I'm willing to learn."

"Dressed alike?"

"Nothing wrong with leaning in style." he said with a smirk.

"Ok." you said unsure. 

You got up and got dressed. Gabriel had brought some of your things from your room so you could freshen up, which included the perfume he liked on you. You wore your hair down and you and Gabriel left the condo to head to the park.

It was early evening and Gabriel brought you to a park with a paved fountain area. There was a large crowd gathered in a circle watching people dance in the middle and you and Gabriel slipped into the crowd to watch. When the couple was done dancing everyone clapped and someone came out and started spreading rose petals in the center of the circle. 

“Whatever dance is coming next must be pretty special,” you thought. 

The previous dancers had been dancing to music coming from a portable speaker, so it struck you as odd when men holding instruments started to come in and set up, the circle opening up on one side to accommodate them. Then you saw a familiar face come stand where the instruments were being setup holding a mic. Recognition hit you.

“Rico Valdez?” you said to yourself. 

While you were staring at Rico, him winking at you, you didn’t notice Gabriel step into the center of the now semi-circle. He came close to you where you were standing drawing your attention as he held his hand out to you. You looked at his hand in surprise. Then at his face, he was smiling. You placed your hand in his and he pulled you forward leading you to the center of the semi-circle. Suddenly a guitar intro started and you recognized it. This was one of Rico’s songs. A song you had choreographed for him. Then you recognized the stance Gabriel was taking in front of you. This was the stance for the dance you had choreographed for this very song. Then it hit you. Gabriel was about to do your dance with you. You had surprise on your face but took your stance in front of him and started to complete the movements.

As the slow guitar intro played, Gabriel positioned his hands in anticipation of you lifting your forearms straight up and together in front of him. As you did he grabbed your wrists pushing your arms out so they were straight on either side as you then lifted them up in the air above your head, bending them slightly, his hands repositioning to hold your arms at the bend as you brought them down, your hands caressing either side of his face, down his chest, to his stomach, looking him in his eyes as you leaned into him, your faces coming closer together until your lips almost touched. You both smiled before he took either one of your hands in his. The beat picked up and Rico Valdez began to sing and you begin to roll your body to the right, Gabriel bringing his closer to yours, his knee almost between your legs, as you took your first steps of the dance and began to turn. As you turned, Gabriel brought one of your hands to the back of his head and you caressed it as you completed the turn, his hand running down your arm and side to hold your waist. 

The dance was a slow and sensual bachata, similar to salsa, but the steps were slightly different and it was known for the steamy way the partners moved together. The way Gabriel was moving with you now, both your knees bent, his knee between your legs as you wound and rotated your hips side to side before you both rolled your hips into one another, his hands on your waist holding you close to him before you separated slightly and continued the steps to the to the dance only to come close again, your bodies pressed together, your hands on his neck and chest as you brought your faces close enough to kiss and sometimes you did. 

The chemistry between you two was palpable just from the way you looked at and connected with each other. If no one had known you loved one another they would have figured it out from the way you danced together, not just from how you looked in each other's eyes but from how you touched one another. There was a comfort there, a knowledge of one another's bodies that became evident in the stroke of his hands over the skin of your stomach as he slowly dipped you back and in the touch of your fingertips to the nape of his neck. 

This particular dance required a level of trust that you had had in Gabriel previously but still weren't sure you could count on despite everything you had done that day. At one point, he had to lift you holding you to his side so each of your legs were on either side of him as you leaned back so your back was a straight line but on a slant, his hands holding yours the only thing keeping you from crashing to the ground. At first you were tense, unsure if he had you but as you leaned back and felt him supporting you, holding you tight so you wouldn’t fall, you began to relax and as he slowly pulled you back up you placed your hand on his cheek as you kissed the other before you unwrapped your legs from around him and he lowered you back to your feet, supporting you still as you lowered yourself to the ground keeping one leg bent and extending the other leg straight behind you in a sort of modified split before he pulled you back up.

As you danced with him, the sexual tension between you growing with each of your close and heated movements, you thought you saw familiar faces in the crowd, people from Overwatch. What confirmed it for you were shouts of,

“Looking good Commander!”

“Ooow! Smokin’ hot Y/N!”

“Nice moves Commander Reyes!”

Always the professional, you didn’t let it get to you and kept your focus on the dance.

Gabriel also heard the shouts from the crowd, caught glimpses of the familiar faces, but he kept his focus on you and the steps to the dance.

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He’d waltz when he had to at Overwatch and UN events like a trained monkey and no one gave him any flack about it because that was duty, that was a part of the job, but this? This was frivolous, fanciful, silly, things he had never been known for, hidden sides of him he only showed when he was with you. He had a reputation to maintain. He was cool, hard, practical. His reputation had been deeply tied to his sense of self, all wrapped up in pride and ego. It was pride and ego that had made him so adamant against ever dancing with you again. More worried about keeping his reputation intact and staving off humiliation then doing the one activity that meant so much to you, that he could actually participate in with you, but wouldn’t. It was pride and ego that had caused him to feel so much embarrassment in that room of investigators, that had gotten him so upset and had made him act so rashly, had made him destroy the relationship and and person who had meant so much to him. Pride and ego had guided his actions from the day he put you out, through the months he stayed away, knowing he was wrong, but too stubborn to face you and you suffered for it.

Gabriel decided it was time for pride and ego to suffer for a change. He was willing to smash his reputation into pieces in front of everyone who knew him, humiliate himself thoroughly, put pride and ego to the side and dance with the woman who loved him enough to risk her own safety for him, to put her own life on the line to ensure his happiness. He would take the time to learn a dance she had created, had breathed life into, had put her heart and joy into, had given so much of herself to, like she gave to everything, like she gave to him. He’d let her essence flow through him in every move and touch, every step and turn and give that joy and life back to her and his heart and love with it. It seemed like such a big thing to do when he had planned all this, his apprehension growing with each passing day, but as he looked in your eyes, he realized it was small in comparison to everything you had done for him. It really was the least he could do to put the smile he was now looking at on your face and the delight he now saw in your eyes.

As the song concluded Gabriel spun you out and caught you in a low dip. He pulled you up slowly and you put your hands on either side of his face pressing your lips to his in a slow but heated kiss that Gabriel began to deepen. You kissed amid the applause from the onlookers, before you slowly parted, looking in each other's eyes, still holding his face.

“I love you Y/N,” he said low but loud enough for you to hear.

“I love you too.” you replied, he smiled, he didn’t think he’d ever get to hear you say it back.

As you both rejoined reality, you saw Rico Valdez coming up to you. You went to him and gave him a hug, Gabriel following behind you.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” you said.

“I didn’t plan to be here myself. When Gabriel contacted me, I was preparing for a show and didn’t really have the time, but when he said it was for you, I dropped everything. You’ve always been my favorite person to work with. Always professional and so sweet. Plus, when I found out Gabriel and I share a mutual dislike of Craig Michaels I knew I had to do this for him.”

You laughed.

“I sent my team down ahead of me last week so they could start teaching him the dance and the rest is history.”

You looked at Gabriel.

“Wait. So, this was the project you were working on in the evenings?” he nodded.

“He said he was doing this to make up for a wrong he had done to you. I don’t know the details and please don’t take this as me pressuring you but whatever he did, with an apology like this? I’d go ahead and forgive him.” said Rico.

You smiled.

“Thanks for your help,” Gabriel said, he and Rico shaking hands. 

“It was my pleasure. I hope you two work it out, I can see there’s a lot of love there between you.”

“Thank you Rico,” you said, giving him a hug. He nodded as you pulled apart then grabbed your hands and kissed them before he turned and began to leave with the band. 

As you looked around you noticed the crowd from before had flocked to Rico to get his autograph and take pictures.

“Ready to go?” Gabriel asked. You nodded. You held hands as you walked back to the car. You both got in and he started the car up before turning to you.

“I don’t know what your in the mood for, but I made a dinner reservation at Milano’s, but if you want to-”

“Take me home Gabriel.” he scrunched up his face in concern.

“You ok? Was this too much? I didn’t mean to-”

You grabbed his face and crashed your lips into his, catching him off guard. You pulled back looking at him fondly, lust and love in your eyes.

“Take me home Gabriel.”

He looked at you, then raised his eyebrows, realization coming to him. He nodded with a smile and pulled out of parking space and drove off.

The two of you barely got into the door of the condo before you were attacking each other's mouths, taking each other's clothes off and tossing them hither and yon as you moved from the door to the living room. The wordlessly agreed upon goal was to get to the bedroom but you never made it. Instead you lowered yourselves to the floor in the living room, kissing sloppily as you reached for Gabriel’s length and guided him inside you. 

“Oh my God,” you breathed as he pushed into you.

“Miss that?” 

“Yes,” you whispered. 

He started thrusting at a slow pace, kissing you as you wrapped your legs around him, hands on his face as you exchanged tongues, moaning into each other's mouths. He was starting to pick up the pace a bit, but this wasn’t enough for you. He was trying to make love to you and you needed something else. All these nights of wet dreams, had you feeling pent up, and the sexy way he had just danced with you, your bodies rubbing together, caused a build up of sexual energy that you needed to release. 

You started to sit up and he stopped, sitting up with you, concern on his face. He came up on his knees as you sat up right and began to turn yourself.

“I need you Gabriel. Do you hear me? I need you,” you said as you got onto all fours and lowered your head to the ground so your backside was up in the air, entrance gaping as you arched your back up to him. He instantly understood.

He came up on his knees and moved forward to you pressing himself against you as his hands began to roam your back and ass and thighs, before he pressed his finger inside you, humming to himself as your heat enveloped it. 

“Fuck Y/N” he breathed.

“Hurry Gabriel” you said softly.

He removed his finger, sticking it in his mouth to suck it clean before he took himself in hand positioning himself at your entrance then grabbed your hips yanking you back swiftly as he plunged into you to the hilt in one swift movement.

“Fuck yes,” you breathed and he smiled.

He pulled his hips back coming out of you to his head then slammed back into you yanking your hips to himself, beginning a fast pace of deep thrusts, yanking you into each one. You closed your eyes and clawed at the carpet moaning and panting as he gave you exactly what you wanted and needed, like he had always done from the day you met him, whether you asked for it or not, somehow he always knew. Your skin slapped together and your loud moans filled the room as pleasure pooled in your core. It had been months since you had been together and you weren’t going to be able to hold out like you had been able to before.

Gabriel could already feel you pulsing around him signalling your impending climax. It had been too long for him too and he knew that as soon as you came he was gonna cum with you. No problem, the night was still young and he knew after this he’d be nowhere near done getting his fill of you. He reached around your thigh and touched his fingers to your clit starting to rub rapidly as he continued to thrust into you, wrenching loud moans from you.

“Right there baby, right there,” you moaned.

“Right there?” 

“Right there….oh Gabriel….oh baby….I’m so close….right there...right….”

You began to tremble as you came undone, screaming your moans as you raked your fingers across the carpet lost in intense pleasure as you pulsed around Gabriel dragging him over the edge with you as he slammed into you and pumped hot seed onto your undulating walls. 

As you both came down from your respective highs, Gabriel collapsed forward flattening you to the ground underneath him. He grabbed your hands intertwining your fingers as you both laid there panting, him pressing kisses to your neck, back and cheek. 

Suddenly you both heard the front door creak open. Gabriel turned around as it opened a crack.

“Are you guys done? Can I come in now?” called Jack through the crack in the door. 

“Hold on.” called Gabriel. He sat up quickly and grabbed the throw blanket off the couch spreading it over you both as he laid back on top of you. “You can come in.”

Jack slowly came inside, his head down, hand shielding his eyes, as he closed the door behind himself. He started to make his way to his room, head still down eyes still shielded.

“Pretty sure when she moved in we all agreed sexual activities would be confined to the bedroom.” said Jack, anger in his voice. “Inconsiderate assholes. Keep me standing outside for God knows how long while you fuck in the middle of the living room. I hope you both choke.”

“Sorry Jack.” you and Gabriel said in unison.

Jack opened his bedroom door. “Oh and by the way, welcome back Y/N,” he said with the same anger in his voice, before he slammed the door closed.

You and Gabriel burst into laughter.

“He’s gonna be mad at us for a long time.” you said.

“Nah, I’ll offer to take his place at a few of the stupid meetings he has to go to. He’ll be ok.”

The both of you got up and collected your clothes and made your way into the bedroom and into bed together. You laid on Gabriel’s chest listening to each other breathe for a while.

“I forgive you Gabriel, for everything.”

“I want us both to start over, clean slate.”

“Clean slate,” you repeated.

“I don’t know what your thoughts are about coming back here, but I don’t want you to come here worried about having the rug ripped from under you again. When I said this was your home, I meant it. You should never have to worry about one of us taking your home away from you. Putting you out of it.”

He reached over to his nightstand and opened the drawer and pulled out some papers and handed them to you. 

“What’s this?” you asked.

“The lease. Jack and I had it amended so your name is on it. We’ve already signed, it just needs your signature. That way legally, neither of us can just put you out. The only way you leave, is if you want to.”

You sat up and flipped through the documents. It was just like Gabriel said. Every place where signatures were required, right below Jack and Gabriel’s signatures, there was an empty line with your name typed under it waiting for you to fill it in.

You looked up at him, tears filling your eyes. He sat up and grabbed your face.

“I love you Y/N. I’ve loved you this whole time, even when I didn’t act like it. I don’t want to beg you or pressure you, but I need you to know that I want you to come home. Come back to our bed….come back to me. Come back to me baby.” 

He looked at you, eyes pleading and your tears spilled over yours. You nodded. He smiled and kissed your tears, before pressing his lips to yours, pulling you in a tight embrace. You melted into his arms, letting his warmth run through you, letting it comfort and sooth you the way it had always done and you recognized you felt something in Gabriel's arms that you had only started to feel days prior. You felt safe. 

You spent the rest of that night kissing and making love to each other, whispering I love you's through the night and it struck you that Gabriel seemed lighter, happier. You had taken a weight off his shoulders that you realized he had been carrying around since the day you met. All this time you had worried about being a burden to him you never thought you'd be taking them away and you'd do it again. You'd do whatever it took to see this man happy. He deserved that and so much more.

One week later:

Gabriel walked down the hall to his office retiring there for the rest of the day after doing combat training and sitting through meetings. When he got to the door, he was greeted by a pair of ballet slippers hanging from the door knob. He removed them as he sighed then went into his office to sit down, throwing them in the trash. Ever since he danced with you, inviting members of Overwatch to come bear witness he had been getting ribbed left and right. Jesse had coined the name “Twinkle Toes Reyes,” and though no one called him that to his face, he heard it often enough around Overwatch from people who thought he was out of earshot. He was just waiting for all of this to die down, so everyone would leave him alone but he realized that would be difficult with a video floating around of the performance. He could have sworn he told Jack to take people’s phones before they joined the crowd.

He wasn’t going to lie, it was kind of humiliating. He had done something way out of his comfort zone and now people who were supposed to respect him were reminding him of it, making fun of him for it everyday. There was a small part of him that wanted to regret what he did.

You quickly came rounding the corner into his office.

“Hey, just letting you know, I’m cooking dinner tonight, so don’t pick anything up on your way home...Gotta go."

You turned, about to leave.

“Y/N,” he called. You turned back around. “Come here.” 

You walked around the desk and he took your hand and pulled you to him and gave you a kiss that took your breath away before pulling back.

“What was that for?” you said with a smile.

“Just because.” You pecked his lips then turned to leave.

“I got classes. See you at home.” 

“See you at home,” he said.

In that instant whatever regret or humiliation or embarrassment he felt dissipated. So what if people made fun of him? So what if they called him names? He had something they didn’t. A woman who loved him and would do anything for him and for her he’d humiliate and embarrass himself as many times as he had to to let her know that he loved her just the same. She was worth that and then some. He took the ballet shoes out of the trash and placed them on his desk, somewhere everyone would see them and immediately know just how much he loved you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeesh! it is so hard putting a dance into words but if you've never seen a sensual bachata check these out. 
> 
> <https://youtu.be/iEswXzy0VR8>
> 
> This is the one that inspired me, especially the lift and the whole arm movement thing at the beginning, I straight up jacked that. Steamy stuff y'all:
> 
> <https://youtu.be/qCNDrLJFv4A>  
> ********************************************************************
> 
> I know ya'll are wondering "But what about Cryogen Unlimited? What happens with them? What kind of plot-hole BS is this chick on?" 
> 
> Not to fear. I have a sweet little one shot coming up that takes place six months after the events in Charity. All will be revealed. Stay Tuned! 
> 
> Thanks for hanging in with me thus far while I get all my weird little stories out of my head and onto the page. I appreciate all the kudos and comments. I read them all even though I can't reply sometimes and you guys make my day, my week, and my month. Until next time.


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